No fewer than 501 visually impaired candidates will participate in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) at 11 centres specially designated across Nigeria
This was announced by the Chairman of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Equal Opportunity Group (JEOG), Prof. Emeritus Peter Okebukola, during a press briefing held on Wednesday in Abuja.
Speaking ahead of the special UTME scheduled for April 28 to 29, Prof. Okebukola stated that the candidates will be assessed in 20 subjects.
“The candidates take the same test papers as their sighted counterparts. Standards are not lowered in any form,” he said.
He also described the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, as “a major advocate for equal access to higher education across Africa.”
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Okebukola revealed that this year, 84 visually impaired candidates who have at least five O’Level credits in their SSCE will be refunded their UTME registration fees at their respective examination centres.
Providing further details, he noted that Lagos State has the highest number of registered candidates (107), with Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun, former Vice-Chancellor of Lagos State University, serving as coordinator.
Kano comes next with 91 candidates and will be coordinated by Prof. Muhammad Bello, former Vice-Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano.
Other centres include Abuja with 41 candidates coordinated by Prof. Sunday Ododo, and Ado-Ekiti with 32 candidates under the supervision of Prof. Rasheed Aderinoye. Most of the coordinators are respected academics, including former Vice-Chancellors.
Highlighting past achievements, Okebukola stated that about 70 percent of visually impaired and albino candidates under JEOG in 2024 gained admission into various tertiary institutions, including universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
These candidates were admitted into courses such as law, special education, computer science, medicine and surgery, mass communication, civil engineering, pharmacy, nursing science, business administration, and various education programs.
Institutions that admitted these candidates include Abdulkadir Kure University, Minna; Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka; Abia State University, Uturu; and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi.
Others are Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko; Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo; Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; Air Force Institute of Technology, Kaduna; Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo; Nile University, Abuja; Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; University of Lagos; University of Nigeria, Nsukka; University of Ibadan; and the University of Ilorin, among others.
It is worth recalling that the JEOG was established in 2017 by JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, with Prof. Okebukola as chairman, to ensure fair and inclusive access to the UTME for visually impaired and other special needs candidates.
