Controversy Surrounding UTME: Father Claims Conspiracy to Deprive Daughter of Academic Success
The ongoing dispute surrounding the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) has taken a new turn as Mr. Romanus Ejikeme, the father of Miss Mmesoma Ejikeme, whose claimed score of 362 is under dispute, alleges a conspiracy to deny his daughter her hard-earned academic success.
In response to JAMB’s claim that his daughter manipulated the score, Ejikeme asserts that Mmesoma has consistently displayed academic brilliance since her early years in nursery school. He emphasizes that she always ranked first in her classes.
Ejikeme reveals, “We are from Oduma in Aninri local government in Enugu State, but we live in Uruagu, Nnewi. Mmesoma is my first child. She had always taken the first position from the time she was in the nursery school at Ogbunike Central School.”
He continues, “When she was at Oba Girls Secondary School, Mmesoma represented the school in competitions. So when she changed to Anglican Girls Secondary School, her teachers from Oba Girls came and pleaded with me, urging me to keep her in their school because she was promoting the reputation of their institution.”
Expressing doubt in the allegations against Mmesoma, Ejikeme states, “Mmesoma cannot manipulate her UTME score. I don’t believe what they are saying. They just want to transfer that scholarship to another person. That is why they are saying that Mmesoma did not achieve that score. It is even her friends who saw her score on the internet and started calling her before she went and printed it out. We have the printout with us now.”
Ejikeme expresses his concern that his daughter has been feeling extremely sad and has even shed tears since her visit to the Anambra State Commissioner of Education, after which she was taken to the Department of State Services (DSS) office.
The state commissioner of education, Prof Ngozi Chuma-Ude, explains that the state government initially congratulated Mmesoma when her achievement of the highest score of 362 in the 2023 UTME was announced on social media platforms. However, they later discovered from the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board website that the highest score for the 2023 UTME was 360, achieved by another student from the state, Miss Nkechinyere Umeh.
Chuma-Ude recounts that Mmesoma, along with Very Reverend Nduka and the principal of her school, visited her office in Awka to protest when they noticed that the state government had congratulated Miss Nkechinyere Umeh instead. Upon scrutinizing Mmesoma’s JAMB result slip, the commissioner observed that the result was from the 2021 UTME.
“After Mmesoma’s protest, I decided to call the secretary of JAMB, and he informed me that the highest score in the 2023 UTME is 360,” Chuma-Ude explains. “I subsequently invited the DSS, and when they arrived, we all went to their office to investigate the matter. I ensured that Mmesoma was released to go home. Thus, the matter is still under investigation,” she adds.
When approached for comment, the public relations officer of the Anambra State Police Command, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, stated that Mmesoma’s case has not been reported to the police in the state. “We are not aware of any case regarding UTME score forgery, so I cannot comment on the issue,” the PPRO clarified.
