The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) in the United Kingdom has disclosed that it will investigate the registration of 512 Nigerian nurses who passed their Computer-Based Test (CBT) at a center in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The NMC suspects that the registrations of the affected nurses could be fraudulent or incorrect.
In a statement released on Friday, May 5, 2023, the NMC said it would write to the affected nurses to explain the situation and to inform them of its plan to investigate whether or not they gained entry into the council’s register through fraudulent or other unlawful means.
The NMC uses a test of competence to assess the skills and knowledge of applicants who want to join its register from overseas.
The test consists of a multiple-choice computer-based component, which applicants write from their home country, and a practical component known as the OSCE, which people take in the UK.
The CBT component is conducted by Pearson VUE on behalf of the NMC. Pearson VUE brought the attention of the regulator to “anomalous data” at one of its third-party CBT centers in Ibadan, Nigeria.
The NMC has said that it will approach the investigation of individuals objectively and transparently, avoiding any unfair discrimination.
The affected nurses will be able to continue working unless the NMC decides that there is sufficient evidence to seek an interim suspension order.
In a similar development, the Texas Board of Nursing in the United States charged 18 nurses of Nigerian descent for certificate forgery.
The suspects were caught in a fraudulent diploma/transcript scheme, as revealed by ongoing investigations.
