A former Executive Secretary of National Universities Commission (NUC), Emeritus Professor Peter Okebukola, has urged all educational institutions and examination bodies to adopt the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), model and techniques of stamping out examination malpractice.
Okebukola said the Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma episode should also be a warning to potential Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) cheats.
He said the Board is several jumps ahead of them.
Prof Okebukola who described the incident as unfortunate said many people are unaware of the thoroughness of the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, in promoting the integrity of JAMB-conducted examinations.
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Mmesoma, had claimed to have scored 362 in the 2023 UTME, and was celebrated as the highest scorer of the examination, but got exposed by JAMB0
The accusation by JAMB that the result was fake and manipulated by the candidate from her original score of 249 triggered reactions from the public.
However, after being presented with incontrovertible evidence, the 19-year-old candidate, admitted that her score according to a text message she received from the Board was 249.
In a statement to journalists on Thursday in Abuja, Okebukola who is the immediate Chairman Governing Board of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), said this was a confirmation that “Prof. Oloyede and his able team at JAMB “are jumps ahead of such unscrupulous persons”.
“He loves all candidates and will stop at nothing to ensure that unadulterated results are published and duly qualified candidates are admitted to our tertiary institutions based on existing vacancies,” he said.
“On the other hand, he will also stop at nothing to penalise any centre or candidate whose integrity will tarnish the image of JAMB.”
He said about two weeks ago, June 24 precisely, at the 2023 policy meeting of JAMB which he had the honour of attending, “Professor Is-haq Oloyede, provided case studies of the extent to which candidates and some examination centres could go in the attempt to cheat their way to high scores.”
“Our jaws dropped at the meeting when we were informed that the examples are just the tip of the iceberg, ” he added
