A student ID system has been launched by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) to combat student identity fraud in Nigeria. Every year, beginning in the spring, more than 2.2 million students will register online and receive machine-readable Genuine HID smart cards. Mobile readers validate new student ID cards. The US-based ID product firm HID Global worked with local firm Botosoft.
Charles Eguridu, WAEC Head of National Office Lagos, said: “The implementation of this real-time identification and monitoring system helps bring to life our vision of being a world-class examinations body. We turned to Botosoft and HID Global to develop an electronic student ID card program that could address the high-volume issuance requirements of WAEC in a very aggressive timeframe as well as our overall need to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the annual exams.”
By deploying a secure card issuance and mobile student ID system, ultimately WAEC met and exceeded its security needs on budget, according to the firms. The use of handheld mobile readers eliminates identity fraud; allows examiners to verify students attending; and enables them to manage examination rules violations in real-time. The mobile reader application also saves hundreds of hours of manual data entry and cuts errors. The time saved allows the examiners to concentrate on the exam days as they can be confident that the students are already authenticated for the exam in question.
Babatope M Agbeyo, Chairman, Botosoft, said: “Our goal is to make the lives of the Nigerian people better. By partnering with HID Global, we have been able to help WAEC achieve its goal to maintain the integrity of the examinations process. In 2014, we helped register and validate more than 2.2 million students at examination centers across Nigeria using 15,000 custom mobile readers.”
HID Global says that it delivered a customised solution to accept the raw data from the WAEC online enrollment, validate the information and prepare it for use in personalising the cards in Botosoft’s site. The turnkey software and hardware included 48 HID Global FARGO DTC4500 and DTC4500e ID card printers-encoders with a combined capacity of more than 65,000 cards a day. Also, HID assisted with the card design and development of the mobile reader application software used in the mobile readers. Once issued, Botosoft’s Candidates Identity Verification, Attendance, Malpractice and Post-Examinations Management System(CIVAMPEMS) ensures effective administration of the “Exam Day” process.
Rob Haslam is vice president, Government ID Solutions with HID Global. He said: “Education in emerging countries is critical to the development of our youth and a key to Nigeria’s future. We are excited to be at the forefront of the mobile ID market, and to be instrumental in bolstering faith in the qualifications that legitimate candidates work so hard to achieve.
“Innovations in mobile ID technologies are allowing us to meet the unique ID needs of our customers, especially those in developing countries where mobile technologies have leapfrogged more traditional technology infrastructures. Working together with Botosoft, we were able to build and deliver a secure and affordable solution to meet WAEC’s stringent requirements.”
The West African Examinations Council Electronic Student ID Card was recently named a finalist in the International Card Manufacturers Association (ICMA) Élan Awards 2015.
View the full case study: http://www.hidglobal.com/sites/hidglobal.com/files/resource_files/hid-botosoft-waec-cs-en.pdf.
