The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on Friday released some of the withheld results of the recently held Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
In a press statement on Friday, JAMB’s Head of Information, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, disclosed that the release of 4,536 out of a total 4,760 withheld results was due to the decision of a committee set up to examine issues bordering on multiple examination malpractices by candidates who sat for the 2019 UTME.
According to the examination body, a facial match recognition was carried out by its specialised software and Information Technology experts to ascertain the level of the examination fraud.
As part of the board’s disciplinary measures to curb examination fraud, it suspended the Nigeria Navy Secondary School, Abeokuta, Ogun State for what it termed “acts not acceptable.”
The statement read in part: “Following the consideration of the Committee on the 4,760 candidates whose results were withheld due to multiple facial matches with different names during the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) registration exercise, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has released the results of 4,536 absolved of complication.
“The release became necessary following facial match recognition carried out by specialized software and IT experts. The Board has also released the result of 231 candidates who sat for the examination at the Nigeria Navy Secondary School, Abeokuta, Ogun State from diligent investigation, it was discovered that all that transpired was not the fault of the candidates.
“However, the centre has been suspended for acts not acceptable by the Board.Out of the number subjected for screening, the Board would subject the results of 127 candidates for further physical examination while the results of 97 candidates established to have been involved in multiple registration and other forms of infractions have their results withheld.
“Those to be subjected to further physical examination would be contacted. They must appear before an inspection team to clarify other likely areas of multiplicity. The 127 have been grouped in zones for convenience and easy accessibility.
“The candidates in South West would converge in Lagos at the West African Examination Council (WAEC) office, Yaba, Lagos, while those from Ibadan and Ekiti respectively are to converge at the JAMB office in Ibadan, Oyo State.
“Those in the South East Zone are to converge in Owerri, Imo State, while those in the North East would be screened in Gombe JAMB Office, the North West would be held in Kaduna. Some candidates from North Central states such as Kwara would converge in Ilorin, while those from Plateau, Nasarawa and the Federal Capital Territory Abuja would converge at JAMB National Headquarters, Bwari, Abuja.”
