The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has inaugurated a Special Committee on Examination Infractions, as part of renewed efforts to combat rising cases of examination malpractice across the country.

At the inauguration in Abuja, the Registrar of JAMB, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, said the integrity of Nigeria’s education system was under threat, with candidates and some Computer-Based Test centres deploying increasingly sophisticated methods to cheat.

According to Professor Oloyede, this year alone, the board uncovered strange and technologically-driven infractions such as image blending, where candidates merge their photographs with impersonators; false claims of albinism, exploited to bypass biometric capture; and fingerprint sharing, where multiple candidates use combined fingerprints to gain access into examinations.

He also revealed that over 6,458 results have been withheld pending thorough investigation, while 1,873 candidates who claimed to be albinos were discovered.

Professor Oloyede stressed that while traditional malpractices still existed, new trends now threaten the credibility of public examinations and by extension, the future of education in Nigeria.

The Registrar who highlighted the scope of reference of the committee, appealed to members of the committee to deliver their report promptly to ensure innocent candidates were not denied admission as the window for 2025 admissions draws close.

He said” Its mandate includes all the cases of image blending, finger blending, false claim of albinism and result falsification in the 2025 examination, identify the methods, patterns, tools, and technologies used to perpetrate this infraction, review current examination and registration policies and recommend improvements,
determine the culpability or otherwise of each of the 6,458 suspected candidates whose results, excluding the albinism group, are still being withheld.”

Others are recommend appropriate disciplinary actions or sanction against individuals or groups found culpable, Propose a proactive framework for the detection, deterrence, and prevention of technologically enabled examination fraud in future exercises, consider and advise on any issue incidental or related to these issues’

Professor Oloyede reaffirmed JAMB’s commitment to justice, accountability, and equal opportunity for all candidates, regardless of ability or disability.

Chairman of the Committee and the Chief Executive Officer of TAF Africa, Mr. Jake Epelle thanked the board for the opportunity to served and promised to deliver on the assignment.

The 23-member Special Committee on Examination Infractions has three weeks to submit its report.

Members of the committee include Prof. Muhammad Bello, Prof. Samuel Odewummi, Prof. Chinedum Nwajiuba, Professor Tanko Ishaya, Professor Ibe Ifeakandu, retired Police Commissioner Fatai Owoseni, Dr. Chuks Okpaka of Microsoft Africa, and the President of the National Association of Nigerian Students.

Also represented are the Office of the National Security Adviser, Department of State Services, Nigeria Police Force, the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, among others.