JAMB may use drones to monitor 2020 Examination – Oloyede

The Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, hinted on Thursday that the board would approach relevant authorities to deploy drones during the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculations Examination.

He made this known at a stakeholders’ meeting held at the Congo Conference Hotel, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in Kaduna State.

Oloyede had said during the first day of the meeting on Wednesday that fraudsters were tampering with the CCTV cameras at its centres for the purpose of cheating. He also said the act was being perpetrated with the connivance of the board’s technical official during the conduct of UTME.

At the second day of the meeting with the stakeholders which comprised Computer-Based Test Centre operators, technical advisors, service providers – MTN, Airtel, Galaxy backbone and other stakeholders – the JAMB boss hinted the idea of contacting the relevant government agency for the deployment of drones in the exam centres.

He said the board had no fewer than 613 Computer-Based Test centres and that the drones in addition to the CCTV cameras would be deployed to checkmate those planning to perpetrate examination malpractices in all the designated centres for the 2020 UTME.

He also warned operators of tutorial classes to steer clear of the 613 CBT centres, noting that most of the tutorial class operators were not qualified and at the same time act as a conduit for examination malpractices.

He warned that anyone caught aiding and abetting any candidate to cheat would be made to face the full wrath of the law.

“They are the centres for corruption in examination malpractices in the country,” Oloyede said.

He warned parents to keep away from  UTME centres, pointing out that parents too encouraged their children or wards to cheat during examinations.

The registrar said the board would no longer tolerate such conducts coming from parents who were supposed to be  epitome of discipline in society.

“No third party is allowed,” he warned.

Oloyede also said only candidates that were biometrically verified would be allowed to sit for the 2020 UTME, adding that the board would not tolerate makeshift CTB centres, saying that “centres must be dedicated to the examination and must be within the MTN or Airtel network coverage areas.”

“All centres network must be powered by switches; no hubs allowed.

“Other CBT centres (CTC/CRC) are encouraged to open with any account with any of the partnership banks,” he added.