As the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, kicks off nationwide, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has issued a stern warning to fraudsters and those benefiting from the unwholesome practices, saying it will track down such candidates even to their service years at the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, or their places of employment.
Registrar of JAMB, Prof Is-haq Oloyede, who issued the warning while monitoring the ongoing UTME in some Computer Based Test, CBT, centres on Friday in Bwari, Abuja, indicated that some individuals carried out fraudulent activities that were uncovered by security agencies during the week and are currently in police net.
Oloyede, who declined to give details of the incident and arrest to newsmen, charged candidates not to give their personal details to fraudsters, even as he thanked security agencies for their prompt response to the incident.
“We have also found out that some of the candidates are giving their details to fraudsters. Fortunately, we thank the security agencies for being marvellously good to us; almost all the persons that have been doing this are already in the net.
“I am very happy that what happened just three, four days ago and the security agencies could work with this speed; they have done marvellously well. And those who benefited from the fraud will not go scot-free.
“We thank the Inspector-General of Police, director-general of the State Secret Service (SSS), director-general of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corp, and the Nigerian Police Force National CyberCrime Centre (NPF-NCC).
“We will make sure even when they are on NYSC; we have spoken with the NYSC, they will pay for it; even those who are working among them would have to pay, because it was something they started since 2012. We will identify each of them and they will pay for it,” he said.
Speaking on the 2024 UTME, the JAMB boss noted that the exercise is expected to be seamless following introduction of new mechanisms into the exam system.
“Today’s examination is very important to us because we have done so much engineering that we have been trying to do in the last seven years and we are only successful today for the first time.
“Those who are fraudsters, who are doing all sorts of things, they know they are in trouble because for the first time we are able to do certain things that we have been aspiring to do. Anybody who tries us is in trouble.
He also announced that candidates affected by technical issues during the ongoing UTME will be rescheduled, while appealing to candidates to remain calm as they would be rescheduled to write the examination.
“We appeal to the public to understand this, some centres will fail. I have heard of only one centre who has failed today. By the end of today, I expect about 10 per cent of the centres to have one problem or the other because we know the level of development in different parts of the country. We are not encouraging this but when it happens, please do not disrupt others.
“It is important to note that when a session fails because of a problem, you cannot bring those candidates to do session two, they will have to step aside and the headquarters will have to be contacted. The earliest time they can be scheduled will be after 4:30 p.m. so that those slated for section two and three can write and these candidates can now write for session four and in some cases, they can even be scheduled for the following day.”
Oloyede said JAMB was not comfortable with the award of scholarship to UTME best performing candidates on the basis of the UTME alone as that would not capture other criteria that are factored in such as five credits requirement, post-UTME scores and physical exercise for those seeking admission into the Nigeria Defence Academy, NDA.
