577 Blind Candidates to Sit for 2024 UTME

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has reported that 577 blind candidates are gearing up to participate in the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) across eleven nationwide designated centres.

Chairman of the JAMB Equal Opportunity Group, Emeritus Professor Peter Okebukola, revealed this during a press briefing on Thursday. He attributed the significant increase in participation to enhanced advocacy efforts.

The JAMB Equal Opportunity Group was instituted in 2017 by the Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, to ensure adequate support for visually impaired candidates and others with special needs.

“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, 313 in 2023. The 2024 increase is largely due to increased advocacy by JEOG, a process which will be bolstered in the coming years,” Prof. Okebukola said.

He further emphasised the proactive measures JAMB took to make the examination experience pleasant for the candidates, including providing necessary resources and support. In a notable gesture, all visually impaired candidates will have their UTME registration costs refunded on-site during the examination.

Moreover, candidates will benefit from additional support such as free hotel accommodation, Braille materials, customised t-shirts, meals, and transportation assistance, courtesy of Prof. Oloyede’s initiatives since 2017.

The examination, scheduled for April 22nd and 23rd, will be conducted in twenty subjects. The same standards will be maintained for blind and regular candidates. As preparations intensify, different individuals, including many former vice-chancellors, will coordinate the distribution of candidates across various centres.

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