The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has uncovered 34 prospective candidates who connived with Computer Based Test Centers for the purpose of exam malpractice.
The candidates who were registering for the examination allegedly allowed the CBT centre staff to thumbprint forms for them.
One of those apprehended includes a level 5 Law student of the Bayero University, BUK, Kano, who was said to have thumb printed for 14 prospective candidates who plan to sit for the examination.
Another candidate at the same centre was also caught thumbprinting for 14 students while a third suspect, who was arrested personally by the JAMB Register, Professor Ishaq Oloyede registered for six students.
Professor Ishaq Oloyede who was in Kano to monitor the UTME Registration exercise and supervised about six JAMB centres said he would ensure that those arrested are prosecuted because malpractice begins at the point of registration.
The JAMB Register said the Law insists that every student must thumbprint by themselves, using their ten fingers when registering for the UTME and where a candidate has problems with some of the fingers, the official registering him will simply indicate the finger as “Bad”.
“But instead of strictly flowing the rules, some Ad-hoc staff for the UTME who are employed by the Computer Based Test Centers are now conniving with the candidates to thumbprint for them, this is indeed done to coerce female students to sleep with them or to get extra money from them”.
He said the exam board had also uncovered a similar case in Abuja where somebody doing the UTME Registration Exercise wanted to sleep with a student but she refused and reported to them and quickly they discovered the place and dealt with the suspect.
“This is what they are doing to enjoy extra gains from the students that is why we commenced this supervision across Nigeria to arrest the ugly situation by punishing anybody found wanting.
Professor Oloyede hinted that the board has no problems with its staff and CBT centres but that the problems are with the private CBT centres, who though have written an indemnity with the board to do the right thing are still found wanting.
“And if they refuse to produce anybody found wanting, they will now take the blames, for example, this person reading Law what sort of Lawyer are you producing for the country who has now engaged in fraud conniving with students to cheat the nation”.
Oloyede informed that the 34 students found conniving with the suspects would not be allowed to even sit for the examination this year and if they do by any means their papers would be cancelled.
The Registrar appealed to students to be guided by the UTME registration guidelines and not allow anyone to Thumbprint forms for them because doing that would cost them their chances and they would also be prosecuted for fraud.