JAMB biometric verification crisis affects thousands, revealing deeper gaps in Nigeria’s exam tech infrastructure.
A Crisis Beyond Missed Exams
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) announced June 28, 2025, as the date for its mop-up Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
This round will give over 96,000 students who missed the main exam due to technical and administrative problems a second chance.
On the surface, the move seems like a fair resolution.
But behind the gesture lies a more disturbing pattern: the deepening JAMB biometric verification crisis.
This issue continues to deny thousands of students equitable access to tertiary education.
Among the candidates awaiting the mop-up exam, 5,096 students couldn’t sit for the UTME because the biometric system failed to authenticate their identities.
These failures, often dismissed as technical issues, cost students much more than just an exam they derail aspirations, fuel anxiety, and widen the already significant educational inequality.
The Human Cost of Fingerprint Failures
Picture a student like Fatima Abdullahi, a 17-year-old from Yobe State. She registered early, traveled 60 kilometers to her CBT centre, and arrived hours before her exam.
But when she placed her fingers on the scanner, nothing worked. “I kept trying, but the system didn’t respond,” Fatima said.
“They told me to go home and wait for a mop-up exam. I felt like crying.”
Stories like Fatima’s echo across Nigeria. Students who study hard, overcome financial stress,
and show up ready, suddenly find the system blocking them from what should be a simple verification process.
Many CBT centres, especially in the North East, North Central, and South-South, report high rates of biometric failure.
The causes are systemic: outdated fingerprint scanners, weak internet connections, unstable electricity, and improper biometric registration in national databases.
What’s Causing the JAMB Biometric Verification Crisis?
JAMB introduced biometric verification in 2011 to reduce impersonation and multiple registrations.
While it helped to curb fraud, the process has brought new challenges, especially for candidates in less-developed regions.
Successful verification depends on:
- High-quality fingerprint scanners
- Reliable internet
- Uninterrupted electricity
- Accurate data in the NIN database
Unfortunately, most centres outside major cities lack these basics. According to TechEd Nigeria, a non-profit tracking education technology, more than 30% of CBT centres still operate with obsolete systems.
Some haven’t received upgrades in over five years.
Additionally, millions of Nigerian students lack proper enrollment in the National Identity Number (NIN) system.
Poor birth registration, low digital literacy, and administrative bottlenecks leave many students with unreadable or missing biometric data.
CBT Centres and the Rise of Syndicate Malpractice
Another growing concern is that some CBT centres have exploited the verification system.
In 2024, the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) uncovered a syndicate involving 17 centres in Lagos, Edo, and Kano.
Staff members at these centres disabled biometric systems or manipulated records to allow paid impersonators to take exams for candidates.
In some cases, officials deliberately caused biometric failure for genuine students, creating room for fraudsters who had bribed their way in.
These actions expose a chilling truth: without proper oversight, technology can just as easily be used to exclude and exploit.
Exclusion Under the Guise of Fairness
While JAMB’s efforts to maintain integrity deserve praise, the system often ends up excluding those it should support.
Students who have worn fingerprints often from manual labour frequently face issues during verification.
Others may have mismatched NIN records due to administrative errors.
Many students describe being told, “You’ll write the mop-up exam.” But without emotional support or legal guidance, this so-called second chance feels more like a rejection.
JAMB’s mop-up is a helpful gesture, but it often acts more like a quick fix than a real solution.
Student Voices: “We’re Not Fraudsters The System Failed Us”
In April 2025, a group of students in Port Harcourt staged a peaceful protest outside a JAMB office.
Their placards read, “We are not fraudsters” and “Fix the system, not the students.”
They spoke for thousands of peers who felt blamed and abandoned by a process they couldn’t control.
One parent at the protest said, “Our children did everything right. It’s the system that failed not them.”
While JAMB emphasizes that the mop-up exam is inclusive and fair, the experience feels punitive to many affected students.
By the time they take the mop-up, most of their peers have already received scores, applied for admissions, and moved on.
How Gender and Geography Worsen the Crisis
The JAMB biometric verification crisis doesn’t affect all students equally.
Female candidates in Northern Nigeria face higher risk of exclusion due to lower NIN enrollment, cultural limitations on mobility, and a digital gap in access to registration centres.
States like Borno, Zamfara, and Bayelsa, already struggling with insurgency or flooding, see higher dropout rates and tech-related disqualifications.
As a result, more students in these regions either lose out entirely or face months of delay.
This regional imbalance highlights the need for equity in digital education policy.
No student should suffer academically because of their gender or geography.
Read Also:
- 2025 UTME Resit Results: JAMB to Release Wednesday
- JAMB 2025 UTME Errors
- Jamb: NANS Urges to Delay UTME Start Time
Solutions: Building a Biometric System That Includes Everyone
Experts and education advocates have recommended the following reforms to stop the biometric crisis from becoming the norm:
1. Pre-Exam Biometric Confirmation
Allow students to confirm or recapture their fingerprints a week before the UTME.
This would identify issues early and prevent last-minute disqualifications.
2. Mobile Biometric Outreach
Deploy mobile biometric registration teams to underserved areas, especially for students in remote villages or IDP camps.
3. Backup Identity Options
Use facial recognition or NIN photo verification as backup for students who cannot pass fingerprint scans.
4. CBT Infrastructure Overhaul
Mandate frequent upgrades for all accredited CBT centres.
Public–private partnerships could help fund the replacement of outdated hardware and software.
5. Independent Monitors
Introduce third-party observers to monitor CBT centre operations and flag malpractice or technical failures in real time.
Toward a Future Where No Student Is Left Behind
The JAMB biometric verification crisis shows how good intentions can go wrong without strong implementation.
Biometric technology promises fairness, but when it fails, it excludes the very students it aims to protect.
As the June 28 mop-up exam approaches, education stakeholders must ask: Are we truly committed to leaving no student behind?
JAMB must embrace reforms that go beyond damage control.
A human-centered approach one that views each candidate as more than a fingerprint can bridge the current digital divide.
Nigeria’s future depends on an education system that works for every student, everywhere.
Have You Faced JAMB Biometric Issues?
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