Exam Scandal: UK Reviews Nigerian Nurses’ Credentials
The Nursing and Midwifery Council in the United Kingdom has indicted 1,238 Nigerian nurses and midwives in the widely spread exam fraud concerns at Yunnik test centre in Ibadan, Oyo State.
According to the Council, over 1,955 Nigerian professionals were impacted by the concerns at Yunnik test centre because they took their tests there.
Earlier, the Home Office asked some Nigerian nurses and midwives being probed for an exam fraud that occurred in Nigeria to leave the UK.
The nurses, who are still awaiting the outcomes of their appeals, have had their visas revoked by the UK.
In 2023, the UK’s council launched a probe into the Yunnik Technologies Test Centre in Ibadan, Oyo State, and commenced investigation following an alert it received about unusual data coming from the centre’s site.
Analysis of data from the test centre showed that the nurses were sitting their Computer-Based Test in record time.
The CBT is one of two aspects of a test of competence that some foreign nurses must complete as part of their NMC application, usually sat in their home countries.
Giving the breakdown, the council highlighted that four groups of professionals were affected by the concerns at the Yunnik test centre in Ibadan.
It stated, “Professionals on the register, who achieved their CBT in a time we believe is more likely than not to indicate that they obtained their result fraudulently (48).
“Applicants wishing to join the register, who achieved their CBT in a time we believe is more likely than not to indicate that they obtained their result fraudulently (669).
“Professionals on the register, about whom we did not take forward allegations of fraud but whose CBT was invalidated (467).
“Applicants wishing to join the register, about whom there was insufficient evidence of fraud but whose CBT was invalidated (771).”
It noted that its regulatory approach to addressing this meant that all affected individuals would be given the opportunity to obtain a new, valid CBT result, with our test provider, Pearson VUE, covering the candidate exam fee.
It said upon obtaining a new, valid CBT result, individuals would still need to complete and submit their application to us, before an AR could review it and take a decision.
On where the council is, it emphasised that the Assistant Registrar has considered 202 complete applications for those with fraud concerns.
“183 have been refused on the basis that they do not meet the character requirements for registrations. Nine applications have been approved. We have concluded nine registration appeals for applicants seeking to appeal an Assistant Registrar’s decision. Three have been allowed and six have been dismissed.”
The former Registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, Faruk Abubakar, said over 15,000 nurses and midwives left the country in 2023.
Abubakar further noted that 42,000 nurses left the country in the last three years, stating the number kept increasing every year.
Comments are closed.