JAMB Exposes 2025 UTME Malpractice, Parents Implicated
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) issued a warning on Monday, stating that advanced, technology-driven cheating is compromising the credibility of Nigeria’s admission process.
This announcement followed the submission of a report from its Special Committee on Examination Infractions.
According to PUNCH Online, the committee, led by Dr. Jake Epelle, presented its findings to JAMB Registrar Prof. Is-haq Oloyede in Abuja on Monday.
Formed on August 18, 2025, the panel was tasked with investigating irregularities in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, evaluating JAMB systems, and suggesting reforms.
Epelle informed the media that the investigation revealed concerning new fraudulent techniques.
The committee recorded 4,251 incidents of “finger blending”—intentional manipulation of biometric checks—and 190 cases of AI-assisted impersonation through image morphing.
Epelle indicated that the investigators also discovered 1,878 false claims of disability, widespread forged documents, multiple registrations with National Identification Numbers, and proof of collaboration between candidates and organized groups.
The investigation implicated a wide range of accomplices, according to Epelle, including parents, tutorial centers, certain schools, and various CBT operators, while he noted that ineffective legal frameworks hindered enforcement efforts.
He emphasized that this endeavor was a moral responsibility, a national service, and a defense of meritocracy in Nigeria, describing the malpractice as “highly organized, technology-driven, and alarmingly normalized.”
To restore trustworthiness, the panel recommended employing AI-based biometric anomaly detection tools, establishing real-time monitoring systems, setting up a central Examination Security Operations Centre, annulling fraudulent results, imposing sanctions from one to three years, prosecuting wrongdoers, and creating a Central Sanctions Registry for institutions and employers, along with preventative measures like digitizing correction procedures, enhancing disability verification, tightening mobile-first registration systems, and prohibiting bulk registrations led by schools.
The committee also advocated for legal reforms, including modifications to the JAMB Act and the Examination Malpractice Act to address biometric and digital fraud, as well as establishing a Legal Unit within JAMB.
They called for a cultural adjustment campaign through a nationwide Integrity First initiative, integrating ethics into school curricula and holding parents responsible for facilitating malpractice.
The committee recommended that offenders under 18 undergo rehabilitative actions under the Child Rights Act, such as counseling and supervised reintegration, instead of facing punitive measures.
Epelle cautioned that if immediate reforms are not enacted, the integrity of Nigeria’s education system might deteriorate further.
“If not addressed, examination malpractice will keep diminishing merit, eroding public confidence, and undermining the very foundation of Nigeria’s education and human capital development,” he warned.
DOWNLOAD EXAM SCHOLARS 2025 CBT APP ON THE PLAY STORE
DOWNLOAD EXAM SCHOLARS 2025 CBT APP ON THE APP STORE
DOWNLOAD EXAM SCHOLARS 2025 CBT APP ON WINDOWS
Visit EXAMSCHOLARS.COM for more info
