JAMB, INEC Partner as Commission Moves to Deploy Biometric Tech for UTME Malpractice Fight

In what marks a significant step toward inter-agency synergy in Nigeria’s public sector, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expressed its readiness to support the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) with robust biometric verification technology. This strategic move, aimed at deepening institutional collaboration, is expected to drastically curb identity theft and examination malpractice across the country.

The collaborative framework was initiated during a high-profile courtesy visit by the JAMB management team, led by its Registrar, Prof. Segun Aina, to the INEC headquarters in Abuja. Addressing the electoral umpire's leadership, Prof. Aina emphasized that JAMB approached INEC as a sister agency with unparalleled, field-tested experience in managing biometric technology for millions of citizens. According to official accounts, the partnership is designed to tap into INEC's vast technological reserve to fortify the credentials of Nigeria’s future academic cohorts.

Expressing the board's core objective, the JAMB Registrar explained that the search for advanced identity verification solutions led them to INEC, which possesses biometric verification equipment that may no longer be in active use for national elections. Prof. Aina appealed to the Commission to consider releasing these resources, which could serve as a formidable tool in neutralizing proxy candidates and other examination-related security breaches that have historically dogged the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).