The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board said it cancelled the registrations of no fewer than 817 candidates that registered to sit the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations and Direct Entry examinations, The PUNCH reports.
The examination body said it made the decision owing to the discovery of certain infractions such as use of strange biometrics during the registration process.
The registrar of the examination body, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, who cited some of the affected cases in a statement made available to our correspondent on Wednesday morning, stated that some registration officers in the affected 178 Computer-Based Test centres added their fingerprints to complete the registration process for the candidates.
The former Vice-chancellor of the University of Ilorin, however, mentioned that the 817 affected students would be given another opportunity to re-register for the exam with the centres bearing the cost.
The JAMB boss revealed that allowing a registration officer or any other person to add his or her finger during capturing of a candidate’s biometric data could bring about impersonation in the exam as well as give such “strange” persons access to change vital details including exam centre.
Speaking on the recent suspension of five CBT centres for selling UTME registration pins above the stipulated price, the JAMB boss said four of the five have been let off the hook.
He, however, said the excess payment would be refunded by the affected CBT centres to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission for necessary action.
Earlier during a virtual meeting with the candidates who had others donating their fingers (fingerprints) to them during their registration process, many of the students admitted to the act while others claimed ignorance.
PUNCH