‘Widespread fraud’ confirmed at NMC test centre in Nigeria

The NMC launched its probe into Yunnik Technologies Test Centre in Ibadan, Nigeria in May this year after being alerted to “anomalous data” coming from the site.

Yunnik is one of the third-party centres overseen by test provider Pearson VUE to provide the computer-based test (CBT) of competence for the NMC.

The CBT is one of two parts of the test of competence that international nurses must complete as part of their NMC application and is usually sat in their home countries.

The NMC has now concluded its investigation, and said it found evidence of “widespread fraudulent activity at the Yunnik centre, where we suspect some people fraudulently obtained their CBT, probably by use of a proxy tester, where someone takes the test on behalf of someone else”.

It found that 48 current registrants and 669 applicants “achieved their score in a time we believe is more likely than not to indicate that they obtained their result fraudulently”.

The 48 registrants will be referred to an NMC investigating committee to look into their case and, if it is confirmed that they joined the register fraudulently, they will likely be removed.

However, the registrants will be given the chance to provide “mitigating circumstances or character references”, as well as three opportunities to retake the CBT.

They could also appeal any decision to remove them from the register.

"We’ve responded to this situation with such painstaking care and consideration"

Andrea Sutcliffe

Meanwhile, the 669 applications will need to obtain a new CBT result to complete their application, which will then be passed to an ‘assistant register’ to consider.

The assistant register could refuse the application if they had concerns that the applicant had “acted fraudulently or dishonestly”.

A further 467 registrants and 771 applications, who sat their CBT at the centre but are not suspected of fraud, will also have to retake their test.

This is because the NMC “cannot have confidence in any CBT result from this test centre and we’re treating all CBTs obtained at Yunnik as invalid”.

The costs of retaking the CBT will be covered by Pearson VUE.

The NMC said it was writing to all professionals and applications affected to explain the findings of the investigation and the next steps they will need to take.

The regulator has also urged employers to take action to protect minority ethnic staff from any “unfair and discriminatory behaviour” that they may face as a result of this case.

Andrea Sutcliffe, NMC chief executive and registrar, said: “Internationally educated nurses and midwives make an incredibly important contribution in our health and social care system.

“Our paramount concern remains to protect the public by maintaining the integrity of the register for nursing and midwifery professionals practising in the UK. That’s why we’ve responded to this situation with such painstaking care and consideration.

“We've kept employers and key partners, including trade unions and other support groups, updated while we've worked through this, encouraging them to support individuals affected and proactively tackle any incidents of racism or discrimination that may have arisen.

“We'll continue that dialogue while we move forward with this regulatory action, and I’m grateful for their collaboration and understanding.”

Matthew Poyiadgi, vice president of the Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia branches of Pearson VUE, said the organisation fully supported the actions the NMC had taken.

He added: “It is of the utmost importance that high-stakes examinations such as the [test of competence] ensure trust both in the outcome and in the candidate who has achieved the certification.”

He said attempted testing fraud was an increasing issue that affected all testing companies and that Pearson VUE conducted regular security checks to monitor the sites within its network.