The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on Monday said it has cancelled the results of two Computer Based (CBT) centres in Abia State over widespread irregularities during the conduct of the just concluded Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
It said the cancellation of the results followed visual evidence obtained from a careful review of Close Circuit Television (CCTV) recordings by a panel of experts engaged by the board.
The board said all the results of the examination sessions conducted by the two centres from April 11 to 18, 2019 are therefore “null and void.”
JAMB, in its Weekly Bulletin released by its Head of Information, Dr Fabian Benjamin, on Monday in Abuja, identified the CBT centres as Heritage and Infinity CBT centre and Okwyzil Computer Institute Comprehensive School Ugwunabo, Aba, Abia State.
He said the board has decided to screen the activities of all its CBT centres through CCTV recordings before it can release the results of this year’s UTME.
The spokesperson added that this is to ensure that the board does not release the results of a compromised examination.
“By implication, all the results of all examination sessions starting from April 11, 2019 to 18 April, 2019 conducted by the board at these two centres were cancelled. What occasioned this drastic action by the board was the visual evidence derived from a careful review of the CCTV recordings by a panel of experts engaged by the board.
“However, in order not to unduly punish honest and hardworking candidates who found themselves attached to these two centres, the board magnanimously relocated all the candidates who had taken or were scheduled to take their examination in the two centres to other centres where they had subsequently taken their examinations.
“The board will continue to act decisively with regard to any irregularity discovered even after the results are released. However, the board has made it a point of duty to screen all activities at all centres via CCTV recordings before releasing the results to ensure that it does not release the results of compromised examinations.”
JAMB apologized to innocent candidates involved in the relocation for inconveniencies they may have suffered and reaffirmed its commitment to providing equal opportunity to all candidates to articulate their hopes and aspirations.
Meanwhile, no fewer than 100 persons who engaged in impersonation and fraudulent practices during the examination have been arrested by security operatives across the country.
The board said the annual examination had been bedeviled by unwholesome practices by candidates, their parents and other accomplices.
Benjamin said the fraudsters were engaged in multiple registrations to facilitate impersonation during the examination, saying that this challenge inflates the annual registration figure for the UTME exercise by 30 per cent.
He said that data available to the board showed that the unwholesome practice was prevalent in virtually all the states, including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The JAMB spokesperson said that among those arrested was a notorious cheat who had registered about 64 times in a bit to “ghost-write” for 64 candidates.
According to him, the arrest of the culprits was made possible by the comprehensive and mandatory identity checks conducted on those taking the examination with a view to fishing out professional ghost writers before the release of the results.
“The board, in its unrelenting efforts to stamp out all forms of examination malpractices had synergised with relevant security agencies nationwide to entrap culprits, resulting in their apprehension,” the bulletin added.
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