The Board of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB)has announced that it will reimburse the fees paid for forms by visually-impaired candidates of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) provided certain criteria are met.
This was announced by Prof. Olarenwaju Fagbohun, Lagos Coordinator for JAMB Equal Opportunity Group.
Olarenwaju, who previously served as the Vice-Chancellor of Lagos State University (LASU), made this statement on Monday at the Distance Learning Institute (DLI) of the University of Lagos, which is the 2024 UTME centre for visually-impaired candidates from Lagos and Ogun states.
He noted that out of the 88 registered candidates for the 2024 UTME at this center, 82 attended. He clarified that the refund will only apply to those visually-impaired candidates who achieved five ‘O’ Level credits in one sitting.
The coordinator said that the gesture is to encourage physically-challenge candidates.
According to him,
He said that the board is committed to finding ways to ensure that no Nigerian child is excluded from empowerment opportunities. He also noted that special examination is being held in 12 centers across the nation.
Previously, candidates were only allowed to listen as proctors read the questions aloud to them. However, this year, it was recognized that some candidates also wished to use braille to independently read and respond to questions.
Consequently, in addition to the ‘read aloud’ option, a ‘fully braille’ option has been introduced.
This new option involves printing the questions in braille so that candidates can use braille answer sheets to respond.
In preparation for this year’s exams, the organizers began contacting candidates assigned to the Lagos center at the Distance Learning Institute (DLI) of UNILAG one to two months in advance. Candidates were informed about their examination venue and advised to arrive at the center a day early with their guides to avoid any last-minute pressure.
He also said that the candidates were checked into hotels alongside their guides.
Prof. Fagbohun, a specialist on Environmental Law, said that the candidates would be examined on various subjects, including Government, Arabic, Use of English, Mathematics, and Biology, among others.