Recently the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) announced the release of the results of the unified tertiary matriculation examination (UTME), which was written early April. AUGUSTINE OKEZIE takes a look at the issue of extortion that nearly marred the smooth conduct of the examination
Announcing the release of the result, the Registrar of JAMB, Professor Dibu Ojerinde said while addressing newsmen that the examination was one of the most successfully conducted exercise by the board in recent times.
The Professor also said that the board conducted the examinations in all towns of the federation including Biu and Bama towns in Borno state.
“Contrary to what people are saying, the board conducted examinations in all towns across the federation including biu and bama town in Borno state. Iam glad to report that no live was lost and we did not lose any of our candidate”
He stated that universities have the highest number of applicants as first choice while the polytechnics and colleges of education have lesser applicants.
“In the breakdown of application by institutions shows that the universities have the highest number of applicants as first choice, Polytechnics have over thirteen thousand applicants, over twenty thousand candidates applied to colleges of education while one thirty students are ready to further their study in innovative enterprise institutes”
” “in the range of scores for the two modes of test, 275,282 students scored below 150. 315,401 students scored between 170-199, 108,488 scored between 200 and 249 and twenty four applicants scored above 250. Under the paper pencil test” he said
Major fallout in the conduct of this year’s UTME examination is the spiraling increase in the cases of extortion of candidates in and around the various examination centers in the country and the activities of internet fraudsters who were hell bent on luring candidates and duping them in the process.
The registrar announced the blacklisting of some examination centers due to alleged extortion of candidates and wide-spread irregularities.
“We have been able to make a list of certain number of schools in south-south and south east Nigeria where some Centers are recommended for further screening due to alleged extortion of candidates and wide spread cheating”
“This year we witnessed a decrease in candidates’ desperation and incidences of malpractices, it is not as rampant as last year. Over dozen of handsets, irregular answer sheets were found on candidates”
He advised the public and candidates to disregard information on upgrading of results in any form through the internet.
“Some internet fraudsters are already telling candidates that their results can be upgraded through the internet, this is pure deceit. The public and candidates are hereby advised to disregard these fraudsters.”
A total of 23 centres in Abia and Rivers states were blacklisted for massive examination irregularities, while results of 2,494 candidates were withheld for further scrutiny.
He further disclosed that the affected centres were involved in widespread cheating and extortion, allegedly charging the students between N500 and N1, 000, adding that a comprehensive report would be forwarded to the Federal Ministry of Education for further action.
Ojerinde said for instance, three centres at Nbawsi, Abia State, were “involved in extortion.
The JAMB boss added that “the team leader who covered the supervision of the examination in the town was given N15, 000 from the proceeds.’’ He collected it as exhibit and we have paid it to JAMB account. The receipt of payment will be sent to the school.”
Meanwhile, Professor Ojerinde has said only 47 candidates were able to score 250 and above, out of over one million candidates that sat for the Paper Pencil Test (PPT) and Dual-Based Test (DBT) modes of the UTME conducted on Saturday.
According to him, only 24 candidates scored 250 and above in the PPT, while 23 candidates scored 250 and above in the DBT, out of 1,015,504 that applied for both modes.
Giving the breakdown of the results of the sixth edition of UTME on the two modes, Ojerinde disclosed that in PPT, 275,282 candidates scored below 150; 122,157 scored between 150 and 159, while 115,456 scored between 160 and 169 points.
He also disclosed that 315,401 candidates scored between 170 and 199, while 108,488 candidates scored between 200 and 249.
On the DBT, Ojerinde said 2,471 candidates scored below 150, with 2,830 scoring between 150 and 159, while 3,808 scored between 160 and 169.
He also added that 6,678 candidates scored between 170 and 199, while 1,309 candidates scored between 200 and 249.
He explained that a total of 990,179 candidates applied for PPT, while 25,325 candidates applied for DBT, totalling 1,015,504 applicants.
One of the biggest threats to the development of education in Nigeria today is the rate at which examination malpractices and extortion of candidates is fast gaining ground. Examination malpractice has been embraced by all and sundry in Nigeria as people no longer see it as a crime any longer.
Both the old and young engage in the crime, people no longer see examination as ‘’what you can sit and pass on your own unless you are ‘helped’. This scourge is the order of the day in our primary, secondary, and tertiary institution.
The situation has become so bad that even in our national and local newspapers, people go to advertise ‘examination malpractice,’ you see schools calling on students to come and sit for exams in their schools and pass in one sitting. One wonders how you pass exams by just registering in a school.
In fact larger percentage of students sitting for school certificate examination like NECO or WAEC examinations are no longer writing these exams on their own. People go about freely discussing how they cheated or were helped to cheat in exams in their various centers.
In some centers answers are photocopied and given to students to copy while some copy from the black board. Little wonder students with a very ‘good’ result find it difficult to pass ordinary post JAMB examination in our various universities and polytechnics and you will be wondering how this person passed his WAEC or NECO with more than five (5) credits including mathematics and English.
