Abuja: No fewer than 501 visually impaired candidates are set to sit for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) at 11 designated centres across the country. Chairman of the JAMB Equal Opportunity Group (JEOG), Prof. Emeritus Peter Okebukola, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja during a news briefing.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the examination for visually impaired and other special needs candidates is scheduled to take place from April 28 to 29, with candidates being tested in 20 subjects. Okebukola emphasized that the candidates will take the same test papers as their sighted counterparts, with no lowering of standards. He praised the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, for his advocacy of equal access to higher education across Africa.
Okebukola also revealed that this year, 84 visually impaired candidates who have at least five O'Level credits in their SSCE will have their UTME registration fees refunded at the examination venue. He provided details on the distribution of candidates and centre coordinators, noting that Lagos has the highest number of registered candidates (107), with Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun, former VC of Lagos State University, serving as coordinator. Kano follows with 91 candidates, coordinated by Prof. Muhammad Bello, former VC of Bayero University, Kano.
Other centres and their coordinators include Abuja with 41 candidates under Prof. Sunday Ododo, and Ado-Ekiti with 32 candidates under Prof. Rasheed Aderinoye. Okebukola highlighted that in 2024, approximately 70 per cent of JEOG candidates, including the visually impaired and albinos, secured admission into tertiary institutions such as universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education. These candidates were admitted into a variety of courses including law, special education, computer science, medicine and surgery, various education disciplines, mass communication, civil engineering, pharmacy, nursing science, and business administration.
The institutions offering admission include Abdulkadir Kure University, Minna; Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka; Abia State University, Uturu; and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, among others. It is noteworthy that in 2017, Oloyede established the JEOG with Okebukola as chairman to oversee the fair and inclusive conduct of the UTME for visually impaired and special needs candidates.