Speaker 1: Nigeria examination body responsible for conducting entry examinations for secondary
Speaker 1: school students to gain admission into higher institutions of learning
Speaker 1: in the West Africa country, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation
Speaker 1: Board JAM, on Sunday says it recorded a case of
Speaker 1: Nigeria students using Artificial Intelligence AI to indulge in the
Speaker 1: act of examination malpractice, specifically stating that the Nigeria students
Speaker 1: used AI to enhance photograph, but JAM refused to give
Speaker 1: further details on how the AI enhanced photo was used
Speaker 1: to commit the examination fraud. JAM made this known in
Speaker 1: a statement issued to announce to the general public that
Speaker 1: the UTME rescheduled examination for candidates that were affected during
Speaker 1: the main exam due to hackers who allegedly caused technical
Speaker 1: problems in some centre's students sat for the exam. In
Speaker 1: a statement released on Sunday and signed by jam's public
Speaker 1: Communication Advisor, doctor Fabian Benjamin, the board disclosed the twenty
Speaker 1: one thousand, eighty two of the three hundred thirty six thousand,
Speaker 1: eight hundred and forty five candidates scheduled for the recid
Speaker 1: were absent. Details of the statement, as reported by Sahara
Speaker 1: reporters reads below. Thus, despite the turnout shortfall, JAM noted
Speaker 1: that the performance trends among candidates who took the RECID
Speaker 1: remained within expected historical ranges, citing success rates from eleven
Speaker 1: per cent in twenty thirteen to thirty four per cent
Speaker 1: in twenty sixteen. JAM said claims that some candidates from
Speaker 1: the canceled sessions scored highly and may wish to retain
Speaker 1: their results are entirely unfounded. It noted that in reality,
Speaker 1: only a handful of candidates scored as high as two
Speaker 1: hundred and seventeen, while ninety nine per cent scored below
Speaker 1: two hundred, demonstrating that there were no top performers in
Speaker 1: the canceled sessions across the six affected states. However, the
Speaker 1: release of the results has been overshadowed by fresh revelations
Speaker 1: of widespread malpract involving candidates, school proprietors, and computer based
Speaker 1: test CBT centers. The Board's Chief External Examiners CES, led
Speaker 1: by Professor Olifemi Peters, vice Chancellor of the National Open
Speaker 1: University of Nigeria, now reviewed the RESET exercise and brought
Speaker 1: in psychometrics expert Professor boniface In Wargu to validate the
Speaker 1: results before they were released. Several critical resolutions were made
Speaker 1: during a nationwide meeting of cees, including the conditional release
Speaker 1: of results for underage candidates, those involved in online WhatsApp runs,
Speaker 1: and some of those who missed the reset for valid reasons.
Speaker 1: JAM explained that underage candidates, many of whom had earlier
Speaker 1: acknowledged in writing that only those who meet academic standards
Speaker 1: would be considered for special admission, had their results released
Speaker 1: for record purposes only, and they remain ineligible for admission. Similarly,
Speaker 1: candidates found to have engaged in academic misconduct using illicid,
Speaker 1: WhatsApp groups and solicitation platforms were granted a one time waiver.
Speaker 1: The board noted that it should not be misinterpreted as
Speaker 1: condoning wrongdoing, urging candidates to avoid antisocial and fraudulent networks.
Speaker 1: A final opportunity has also been extended to absentee candidates,
Speaker 1: particularly those who missed both the main utmeme and the
Speaker 1: reset via the annual mop up examination. Meanwhile, several CBT
Speaker 1: centres have been blacklisted for serious examination in fractions including
Speaker 1: biometric data manipulation and impersonation facilitation. JAM said the proprietors
Speaker 1: of these centres will be prosecuted and all individuals directly
Speaker 1: involved in the fraudulent activities are being tracked. Collusion of
Speaker 1: certain CBT centre school proprietors with the connivance of accredited
Speaker 1: centers to hack the networks of targeted CBT centres, thereby
Speaker 1: gaining control of candidates computers and remotely so admitting their
Speaker 1: responses to the relevant local server of the centre, as
Speaker 1: recently discovered by the security agencies, to whom we are
Speaker 1: profoundly grateful. The statement read the board raised alarm over
Speaker 1: increasingly sophisticated cheating strategies discovered during the twenty twenty five
Speaker 1: examination cycle. These include AI enhanced photo manipulation to enable impersonation,
Speaker 1: hacking into CBT networks, using hidden strong rooms to extend
Speaker 1: local network coverage, and hiring mercenaries to sit exams for candidates.
Speaker 1: While some Nigerians are busy dissipating energies on conspiracy theories
Speaker 1: and spread of hatred, our future is being put in
Speaker 1: jeopardy by advanced level of digitalized fraud JAM warned travel
Speaker 1: guides during the twenty twenty five examinations. Further high level
Speaker 1: malpractices were uncovered, which led to the withdrawal of some
Speaker 1: results and the arrest of several culprits across the country,
Speaker 1: some of whom we understand made useful confessions. Over three
Speaker 1: thousand candidates have been identified as having benefited from or
Speaker 1: participated in such fraudulent practices, and JAM stated that their
Speaker 1: results will be withdrawn once investigations are concluded. The board
Speaker 1: also pushed back against tribal or sectional claims tied to
Speaker 1: the cancelation of sessions in six states, clarifying that no
Speaker 1: high scores were recorded in those sessions, as ninety nine
Speaker 1: percent of affected candidates scored below two hundred. In another case,
Speaker 1: the True Public Attention JAM discredited a viral social media
Speaker 1: claim by one Alissa Gabriel Chukuomecha, her first year public
Speaker 1: health student at adakunle Ad Jason University, a Cumberracoco, AAUA,
Speaker 1: who falsely claimed to have scored three hundred and twenty
Speaker 1: six in the twenty twenty five UTME. Investigations showed that
Speaker 1: Chuquomecha had docted his twenty twenty four UTME result of
Speaker 1: two hundred and three to impersonate a high performing twenty
Speaker 1: twenty five score. His actual twenty twenty five result recorded
Speaker 1: in Lagos was one hundred and eighty and has since
Speaker 1: been withdrawn. Following the expose, the student reportedly deactivated his
Speaker 1: x formerly Twitter account on complaints about result checking costs.
Speaker 1: JAM clarified that its SMS Shortcote Service fifty five thousand,
Speaker 1: nineteen sixty six thousand, NINETEENTHS is subsidized and designed to
Speaker 1: protect candidates personal data from cyber cafes and third party platforms.
Speaker 1: Candidates were urged not to recheck already released results unless
Speaker 1: they receive a direct notification via SMS email or their
Speaker 1: JAM profile indicating a withdrawal juneter infractions. JAM expressed appreciation
Speaker 1: to Nigeria's security agencies for their support in uncovering examination fraud.
Speaker 1: The board also thanked week Amadu Bello University, the Teacher's
Speaker 1: Registration Council of Nigeria and the National Examination's Council for
Speaker 1: adjusting their own exam schedules to accommodate the reset. The
Speaker 1: board commended the resilience of affected candidates and reaffirmed its
Speaker 1: commitment to a technology driven, fair and credible examination process.
Speaker 1: Despite mounting challenges, JAM maintained that the CBT model remains
Speaker 1: the best option for curbing malpractice and modernizing Nigeria's education system.
Speaker 1: Doctor Fabian Benjamin concluded the statement by urging Nigerians to
Speaker 1: unite in protecting the integrity of the country's education system
Speaker 1: against increasingly sophisticated forms of cheating Gwindi Bini in a
Speaker 1: morgical way.