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