By Mariam Abeeb
The Special Committee on Examination Infractions, SCEI, set up by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has uncovered shocking levels of technologically-enabled examination malpractice in Nigeria’s 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME.
Chairman of the Committee, Dr Jake Ekpelle, lamented that examination malpractice has evolved into a “highly organized, culturally normalized enterprise” that threatens the foundation of meritocracy in the country.
Ekpelle, who stated this while delivering the committee’s report to JAMB Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, in Abuja, said the findings were both disturbing and urgent.
He revealed that out of thousands of documented cases, there were 4,251 instances of “finger blending”, 190 cases of AI-assisted image morphing, 1,878 false claims of albinism, alongside widespread credential forgery, multiple National Identification Number, NIN, registrations, and organized solicitation rings.
“We documented 4,251 cases of “finger blending”, 190 cases of AI-assisted image morphing, 1,878 false declarations of albinism, and numerous cases of credential forgery, multiple NIN registrations, and solicitation schemes.
According to him, the scale and sophistication of the malpractice shocked the committee.
“This fraud is not the work of candidates alone. It is sustained by syndicates involving some CBT centres, schools, parents, tutorial operators, and even technical accomplices,” he said.
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