UTME top scorer scandal: Mmesoma Ejikeme’s parent, school ask DSS to publish findings

 

 

 

There seems to be a new twist to the “Fake” JAMB top scorer saga, following the intervention of the family of Mmesoma Ejikeme, the student in question and her former school.

 

According to an online news portal, thenetwork.ng, the family and school authority of the 16-year-old Miss Mmesoma, the highest scorer in the 2023 Unified Matriculation Tertiary Examination (UMTE), have demanded immediate release of findings of the fake result saga under investigation.

 

Mmesoma allegedly scored 362 in the UTME but the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) which conducts the UTME, had declared Mmesoma’s 362 UTME score as fake.

 

The board claimed that her score was manually inflated, as her original score was 249. JAMB also announced the immediate withdrawal of Mmesoma’s UTME score.

 

 

Reacting, Romanus Ejikeme, the girl’s father, and her school principal, Mrs. Egum Uchechukwu, said Mmesoma is a brilliant child.

 

They both called for a thorough investigation on the matter so as not to destroy her life and tarnish her educational pursuit.

 

They jointly called on the DSS to release result of its finding on the allegation, wondering why JAMB went to the social media to dent the girl’s image without allowing DSS conclude investigation.

 

“My daughter started taking first position in her class right from nursery school, and continued even in her secondary school at Girls Secondary School, Oba, Anambra State.

 

“Now, at Anglican Girls Secondary School, Nnewi, she is still top in her class in the senior class.

 

“Her ordeal started when in the released result by JAMB this year, she scored 362 and emerged the overall best. She did not even know, but was informed by those who saw it online.

 

“She was even confused because she did not know the outcome of the score before people started congratulating her. Calls were coming from everywhere, then she went to check her result and saw her score that she was the overall best .

 

“There was celebration everywhere that my daughter has made it, but this is the fate she later found herself. They sent DSS after her, using the outcome of the result to intimidate her and the entire family,” Ejikeme said.

 

He debunked the statement from the state Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh that his daughter came to the ministry late when she was invited on Friday (June 30, 2023).

 

“She went with her school officials to the state Ministry of Education, Awka on time on same date on invitation. We find out that Miss Nkechinyere Umeh, who scored 360, was honoured, and not her that scored 362. She did not delay, we were at Awka on time.

 

“At the commissioner’s office, we saw that DSS was already invited to investigate the matter,” Ejikeme said.

 

Corroborating what Mmesoma’s father said, her school principal, Mrs. Egum Uchechukwu, also called for a thorough investigation into the matter of the JAMB top scorer to clear the girl’s image.

 

“Let the DSS do their investigation and tell us. The Commissioner for Education should help to follow up the investigation, we were in her office, and the issue of DSS came up.

 

“I won’t allow her to suffer because she is a good girl. They promised to investigate the case, let them do their investigation. We made a statement, giving them necessary information,” she said.

 

Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, Commissioner for Education had insisted that Nkechinyere Umeh who scored 360 is the best in JAMB result and so honoured her on Friday.

 

“The person we are honouring is Nkechinyere, who scored 360, I read in the Facebook that Mmesoma scored 362. It took Mmesoma time to bring her result to my office, by that time people were already calling us that we are trying to honour the wrong person.

 

“Eventually she came to my office, brought her result and DSS picked her up from my office. We already honoured the right person, Nkechinyere Umeh who scored 360.

 

“But this girl came claiming that she scored 362. On inquiry, I had to invite her and her principal to my office, when they came to my office I called JAMB who said they discovered that what she had was not the real result,” Chuma-Udeh said.