2024 UTME: JAMB Moves To End Exam Frauds, Records Engineering Breakthrough 

BY NGOZI NWANKWO, ABUJA – The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), said it has successfully recorded a major engineering breakthrough aimed at ending frauds for which it has been working to achieve in the past seven years.

JAMB which announced the breakthrough at the commencement of the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), nationwide, said the breakthrough would pose as a major threat to fraudsters in the conduct of the UTME.

Prof, Ishaq Oloyede, Registrar of the Board who disclosed this while fielding questions from journalists shortly after monitoring the on-going  2024 UTME in Kogo, Bwari Area Council of the FCT on Friday, said fraudsters are in trouble as JAMB has been able to do certain things and successfully achieved some engineering to check any kind of malpractices, stressing that anyone who tries to cheat the examination body in any form will regret it.

Prof Oloyede said; “Today’s examination is very important to us, because we have done some engineering that we have been trying to do in the last seven years but we were only successful today”.

While commending the effort of the security personnel in reducing activities of fraudsters in the system, Oloyede said that those who were involved in frauds are already in their nets and would be dealt with.

“We are aware that many candidates gave their UTME details to some fraudsters but almost all the people who have been doing this (fraudulent activities) are already in their nets. I won’t want to mention the numbers, but I’m very happy to tell you that they are in the nets.

“We thank the Inspector General of Police, Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS), Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corp, and the Nigerian Police Force National CyberCrime Centre (NPF-NCC). They have been doing marvellously good,” said JAMB Registrar.

Oloyede advised candidates who might experience any technical glitch or section failure to be patient and avoid disruption, adding that JAMB headquarters has put mechanism in place that would reprogram their questions and reschedule them for the exam.

According to the Registrar; “It is important for us to note that when a section fails, they will have to step aside, the headquarters will be contacted and the earliest time they will be rescheduled will be after 4:30, so that section two and three can go.

“In some cases, they can be rescheduled the following day if they had been section 4 in that center. The parents who get worried that they children were early should know that the exam is programmed and they have to reprogram another question for them from the headquarters.

“We are appealing to the members of the public to understand that centers fail, yes, some centres fail. I have heard of only one throughout the country but I expect about 10% of centers to fail because we know the level of development in the areas. When it happens, do not disrupt others. Let the section go on,” he said.

He commended the public, especially parents, for their peaceful conduct, said parents usually cause problems for students in previous exercises.

“Everything appears to be going well. We want to thank the public for heeding our advice because it appears everybody is doing what they are expected to do,” he said.

The JAMB Registrar advised candidates to remain upright, study well and avoid patronizing fake tutorials who he described as centres of corruption.