The recent measures announced by Fatshimetrie, aimed at arresting and disqualifying disruptive parents during JAMB examinations, have stirred significant reactions within the educational community. Dr. Fabian Benjamin, spokesperson for the agency, explained the necessity of this directive in response to intrusive behavior by certain parents during previous testing sessions.
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, emphasized that any parent found violating this rule would not only face arrest but also have their child disqualified from taking the examination. These actions were taken following the discovery that many disruptive parents were actively facilitating exam cheating.
The Registrar highlighted that malicious individuals often posed as parents to gain access to examination centers and engage in various illicit activities. Therefore, he urged security forces to collaborate with exam centers to apprehend any parent attempting to approach the examination venues.
In line with the National Education Policy, candidates for the examination must be at least 17 years old. It is evident that these parents did not ensure their children attended the requisite classes outlined in the official guidelines, leading to their desire to accompany them to the exam for potential bribery purposes.
JAMB also took the opportunity to remind candidates of safeguarding their contact details, email addresses, registration, and telephone numbers. Any candidate whose information is found on fraudulent sites would be considered an accomplice and subject to prosecution. The Registrar assured that all necessary preparations have been made for the smooth conduct of the upcoming 2024 examination, which will be held in over 700 computer-based test centers nationwide.
Provisions have been made to address any technical challenges that may arise during the exam. It was clarified that in the event of technical difficulties in a session, candidates from subsequent sessions could still take their exams as scheduled, while those from the disrupted session would be rescheduled for a later slot.
In conclusion, the Registrar urged examination center owners to view their role as a national commitment rather than purely a profit-making endeavor and to speak out against any misbehavior among them. He emphasized that any center persisting in wrongdoing jeopardizes invaluable opportunities.