UTME: Undue parental pressures leading candidates to fraudsters – JAMB

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has advised parents against putting undue pressure on their wards who are taking the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

JAMB said undue pressures could lead the students to fraudsters who claim to have the ability to upgrade UTME results.

JAMB had in April 2021 during the 2021 UTME banned parents from examination venues and warned them against putting pressure on their wards.

Candidate swindled

At a recent meeting held with some media executive officers, JAMB revealed how a parent’s “undue pressure” led her son to some fraudulent result-forging syndicate to help increase his JAMB score.

The candidate, Abejide Samuel Oluwagbohunmi, was said to be seeking admission into the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) with a UTME score of 190 out of the possible 400.

Unhappy with his score and “frustrating” pressure from his mother, the candidate reportedly turned to a ‘fraudster’ who collected his money and presented to him a fake UTME result with a 225 score.

“He lied to his mother that both results were from JAMB,” the examination body said.

The mother, who was unsettled by the discrepancies in the result, was said to have written JAMB, seeking clarifications.

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When summoned, JAMB said the candidate confessed, saying his real result of 190 was inadequate for him to process his admission.

Repeated Warnings

The examination body said it had repeatedly warned candidates against approaching fraudsters for the ‘upgrade’ of UTME scores, noting that such efforts would only end in shame.

In one of its weekly bulletins, JAMB said: “The Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) wishes to advise parents, guardians and candidates in particular that there is nothing called ‘JAMB score upgrade.’ This has never existed and will never be condoned by the board.”

“Parents/guardians and candidates alike are to note that the so-called score upgrade is simply a scam perpetrated by fraudsters to deceive unsuspecting and gullible candidates, their parents or their guardians as the case may be.”

It added that any parent or guardian, “or even candidates themselves who may get themselves involved in such a fraudulent act is doing so at their own peril and that they should be ready to face the full wrath of the law when caught.”

The examination body directed candidates with challenges or complaints to its ticketing platform.