Thomasina Oseye
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 announcement was made by Prof. Olarenwaju Fagbohun, the Lagos Coordinator for JAMB Equal Opportunity Group.
Refund Criteria and Recognition of Candidates
According to Prof. Fagbohun, the refund will only apply to visually-impaired candidates who achieved five ‘O’ level credits in one sitting. This gesture is aimed at encouraging physically-challenged candidates and recognizing their potential. The board has already disaggregated the results uploaded by these candidates during registration and sent them to all center coordinators nationwide.
Commitment to Inclusion and Empowerment
JAMB is committed to finding ways to ensure that no Nigerian child is excluded from empowerment opportunities. In line with this commitment, special examinations are being held in 12 centers across the nation. This year, a ‘fully braille’ option has been introduced alongside the ‘read aloud’ option, allowing visually-impaired candidates to independently read and respond to questions using braille answer sheets.
In preparation for the exams, candidates assigned to the Lagos center at the Distance Learning Institute (DLI) of the University of Lagos were contacted in advance. They were provided with information about their examination venue and advised to arrive a day early with their guides to avoid last-minute pressure. The candidates are being well taken care of during their stay, and they will also receive transportation allowances when returning to their respective destinations.
Prof. Fagbohun mentioned that the candidates will be examined on various subjects, including government, Arabic, use of English, mathematics, and biology, among others.
