At least 577 blind candidates will participate in the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) across 11 centers nationwide.
Emeritus Professor Peter Okebukola, Chairman of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s Equal Opportunity Group, disclosed this information during a press briefing about the upcoming UTME for blind candidates and other individuals with special needs.
The JAMB Equal Opportunity Group was established in 2017 by Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, the Registrar of JAMB, to specifically cater to the needs of these candidates.
According to Okebukola, “This year and for the first time, JAMB, through JEOG, will implement the bimodal system of UTME administration.
“This involves Fully-Braille and Fully Read-Aloud. Candidates have a choice of mode. JEOG has been resourced by JAMB to make the experience of the two modes of test administration pleasant for the candidates.
“With a total of 577 blind candidates, the 2024 UTME presents the highest number. We had 348 in 2022, and 313 in 2023. The 2024 increase is largely due to increased advocacy by JEOG, a process which will be bolstered in the coming years,” he said.
Okebukola who is also the President of the Global University Network for Innovation, described Oloyede, as one of the strongest pillars of equal opportunity of access to higher education in Africa.
He said, “In the last four days, I have conferred with members of GUNi-Africa on how blind candidates aspiring for higher education in Africa are treated in their countries and all are in agreement that Nigeria, through Oloyede, stands clearly out as the best.”
Okebukola noted that “This year, all blind candidates who are prima facie qualified for admission to institutions of higher learning in Nigeria (that is with at least five O-level credits) will have the cost of their UTME registration refunded on-site during the examination.”