HID Global and Botosoft launch mobile student ID system in West Africa to authenticate over 2M Nigerian students

HID Global®, a worldwide leader in secure identity solutions, today announced it has successfully launched a mobile student ID system in collaboration with Botosoft, the leading provider of technologies in Africa, to help the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) 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 instantly.

“The implementation of this real-time identification and monitoring system helps bring to life our vision of being a world-class examinations body,” said Mr. Charles Eguridu, WAEC Head of National Office Lagos. “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.”

To facilitate improvements in the annual examinations, WAEC teamed with Lagos-based Botosoft and HID Global to assist with the development and deployment of a secure card issuance and mobile student ID system, ultimately allowing WAEC to meet and exceed its security needs on budget. The use of handheld mobile readers eliminates identity fraud, allows examiners to verify student attendance, and enables them to manage challenges around examination rules violations in real-time. The mobile reader application also saves hundreds of hours of manual data entry and eliminates errors.  The time saved allows the examiners to concentrate on the importance of the day as they can be confident that the students are already authenticated for the exam in question.

“Our goal is to make the lives of the Nigerian people better,” said Babatope M. Agbeyo, Chairman, Botosoft. “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 centres across Nigeria using 15,000 custom mobile readers.”

HID Global leveraged its government ID expertise and offerings to deliver a customised solution to accept the raw data from the WAEC online enrolment process, validate the information and prepare it for use in personalising the cards in Botosoft’s facility.  The turnkey software and hardware solution included 48 HID Global FARGO®DTC4500 and DTC4500e ID card printers / encoders with a combined capacity of more than 65,000 cards per day.  

Additionally, HID Global 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.

“Education in emerging countries is critical to the development of our youth and a key to Nigeria’s future, and we are excited to be at the forefront of the mobile ID market,” said Rob Haslam, vice president, Government ID Solutions with HID Global.  “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.”