By Helen Okechukwu, JKNewsMedia Reporter
OVER TWENTY-seven suspected Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) impersonators have been handed to the Nigeria Police for prosecution, following a crackdown on examination malpractice by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
The action comes as part of ongoing efforts to uphold the integrity of the examination process and deter fraudulent practices.
In a statement, JAMB also identified four Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres that had violated ethical and technical standards.
These centres, now under scrutiny, were flagged for their failure to comply with regulations set out by the examination board.
Affected candidates from these centres have been advised to reprint their examination slips for a rescheduled testing day.
The centres in question include Adventure Associate in Kano State, Saadatu Rimi College of Education, also in Kano, and two locations of Penta M & F Technical Services Ltd in Sokoto State.
JAMB spokesperson Fabian Benjamin expressed regret for the disruptions caused but warned that such infractions would not be tolerated.
“Excuses will not be accepted,” he said, reinforcing that JAMB would blacklist any centre failing to meet the required standards.
JAMB’s efforts to ensure a fair examination were further highlighted on 25 April when the board reported that over 900,000 candidates had successfully sat for their UTME exams out of the 2,083,600 registrations nationwide.
In a separate incident, candidates who had been initially denied access to the Caleb University CBT centre were later permitted to sit the examination, following intervention by JAMB.
The examination board issued an apology for the actions of an overzealous security officer who had initially blocked their entry, describing the officer’s actions as both unauthorised and misguided.
JAMB has reaffirmed its commitment to conducting a transparent and fair examination process for all registered candidates.