Kano: A total of 92 visually impaired candidates participated in the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in Kano. Prof. Muhammad Yahuza-Bello, the JAMB Coordinator for the Kano centre, disclosed this information while speaking with newsmen shortly after monitoring the exercise.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the examination was conducted at the School of Continuing Education, Bayero University Kano (BUK), under the JAMB Equal Opportunity Group (JEOG) for special needs candidates. Yahuza-Bello, a former vice chancellor of BUK, mentioned that the 92 candidates came from Kano, Jigawa, Katsina, Zamfara, and Kaduna States. Among them, two candidates have Down syndrome, while two others have autism.
The candidates, comprising males and females, were provided with various gadgets such as typewriters, braille machines, slates, styluses, and paper. Trained personnel and invigilators were deployed to provide amanuensis services for candidates who required assistance during the examination process. Yahuza-Bello highlighted that over 500 candidates with special needs, including visual impairment, albinism, Down syndrome, autism, and other conditions, registered for the examination in 11 centres across the country.
He explained that this initiative was introduced by the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, in 2017 to offer equal educational opportunities to all, regardless of disability. At CBT centres, the examination is displayed on computer screens, but many special needs candidates cannot read from screens or use keyboards. The goal is to eliminate barriers to education, building upon JAMB’s ongoing reforms aimed at inclusivity, including the use of adaptive examination materials.
Yahuza-Bello emphasized that the examinations for special needs candidates are of the same quality and standard as those taken by regular candidates at CBT centres. Since its inception in 2017, JEOG has recorded success, with a growing number of candidates with special needs gaining admission into various tertiary institutions across the country. He noted that only about 25 per cent of regular candidates gained admission into tertiary institutions, compared to over 33 per cent of special needs candidates.
He commended the Vice-Chancellor of BUK, Prof. Sagir Adamu Abbas, the Department of Special Needs BUK, the School of Continuing Education, and other institutions for facilitating admissions for these candidates. Furthermore, JAMB, through JEOG, has provided free accommodation, feeding, and a token for transportation to all candidates during the examination period.
The coordinator also presented Khadija, a former Kano centre candidate, who scored over 240 in the UTME and is now a final-year student at BUK, studying BSc Dietetics and Nutrition. Khadija expressed her gratitude and offered words of advice and encouragement to the current candidates.