London – Internationally educated Nigerian nurses have expressed feeling “thrown out into the cold” by the UK Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) after being caught up in an ongoing investigation into widespread fraud at a test centre in Nigeria.
The incident, which according to The Nursing Times affected nearly 2,000 Nigerian nurses, has led to job losses, financial turmoil, and severe emotional distress for many of those involved.
The investigation was triggered by concerns over fraudulent computer-based test (CBT) results at the Yunnik Technologies Test Centre in Ibadan, Nigeria, which was part of the NMC’s certification process for international nurses. Nurses, including registrants and applicants, were found to have taken the test in unusually quick times, leading the NMC to conclude that the CBT had been obtained fraudulently.
In response to the scandal, 16 individuals have admitted to using proxies to sit the CBT, while 7 nurses have been removed from the NMC register, and 185 applications have been rejected. The NMC’s actions have left many nurses in a state of limbo, unable to progress with their careers as they await hearings and appeals regarding their cases.
Felicia Kwaku, a representative of a group campaigning for the affected nurses, told Nursing Times, “We have a number of vulnerable people that have lost jobs and livelihoods,” as many nurses face a bleak future while the investigation drags on.
One such nurse, who spoke to Nursing Times under the condition of anonymity, shared the emotional toll the situation has taken on her. Nurse A, who passed the CBT in October 2022 at Yunnik, found herself in the UK working as a healthcare assistant while waiting for her application to join the NMC register. However, in September 2023, she received a devastating letter rejecting her application, accusing her of obtaining her CBT fraudulently.
“When I had that rejection letter, I thought I had died,” Nurse A recalled. “I couldn’t breathe. I was literally given an inhaler for the first time in my life because of the panic attack.”
Despite retaking her CBT in the UK and providing evidence of her competence and trustworthiness, the assistant registrar who reviewed her case upheld the NMC’s decision, believing it more likely that she had obtained her CBT fraudulently. This decision has had far-reaching consequences, as Nurse A was forced to switch her visa status, losing her ability to work as a healthcare assistant and struggling financially.
“I can’t go to school now, I can’t go back and do my master’s, I can’t earn a decent living,” she said. “I’m still paying the debts I incurred through the process of coming here.”
Some affected nurses have pointed out that the fast test times were due to the availability of practice materials online, which were similar to the actual questions on the CBT. Nurse A explained, “I practised for eight months. At some points, just reading the first two words, you already know the answer.”
The NMC has denied that these online materials were identical to the actual exam questions, but the nurses argue that Pearson VUE, the company responsible for overseeing the test centre, failed to maintain proper oversight. According to a recent webinar hosted by the NMC, the Yunnik Centre had not been inspected properly since its opening, and it lacked essential security measures such as CCTV and biometric verification to prevent fraud.
Nurse A has called on Pearson VUE to take responsibility for their failure to uphold the standards of the testing centre. “We’re sort of like collateral damage between the NMC and Pearson VUE,” she said. “Nigerian nurses feel scammed that the NMC took us to a centre that was not meeting standards, and now we are getting blamed for what happened.”
The situation has left many affected nurses uncertain about their future, with some even considering legal action against the NMC. The regulator’s handling of the case has sparked a wider debate about accountability and the responsibility of testing centres to uphold rigorous standards to protect the integrity of the qualification process for international nurses.
