Inspiring! 32 Candidates with Disabilities Brave the 2025 UTME in Ekiti

At least 32 of the 501 disabled candidates who took the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in Ekiti State participated in the exam, which was held in 11 designated centers across the nation: Abuja, Enugu, Benin, Oyo, Lagos, Bauchi, Kebbi, Kano, Jos, and Yola. Prof. Rashid Aderinoye, the coordinator of the JAMB Equal Opportunity Group (JEOG) in Ekiti State, made this announcement yesterday in the state capital, Ado-Ekiti. This came just after Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji announced that the state university is now creating a special education department.

Prof. Aderinoye stated that JAMB has administered this test for the last eight years and that 501 candidates from the eleven centers took it on April 28 and 29.

“Prof. Oloyede made sure that both the able and the disabled were involved because he believed that everyone must be carried along.”

The main goal is to make sure that children with disabilities—whether they are blind, have hearing problems, or have other conditions—are taken care of. People will need to sit next to them and write for them, even if they are unable to write due to an amputation.

The governor praised JAMB for giving disabled candidates the chance to take the UTME, noting that it has made it possible for them to attend postsecondary institutions and further their careers.

The Governor praised Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, the Board’s Registrar, for developing the JEOG.

Speaking at the Ado-Ekiti Center of Ekiti State University (EKSU), the governor, in the person of his special adviser on special education and social inclusion, Adetoun Agboola, stated that the state government is prepared to keep funding PwD education in the state.
The state university is currently in the process of establishing a department of special education, according to the special adviser, who also disclosed the government’s efforts to promote the education of PWDs.

She went on to say that the program will give graduates of the special schools in their service areas access to and opportunities for further education.

In his remarks, EKSU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Joseph Ayodele, through Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics) Prof. Wole Adebayo, thanked JAMB and the federal government for providing equal opportunities to underprivileged candidates through JEOG and commended them for seizing the chance.

According to Ayodele, “this program gives us the impetus that there is ability in disability, that if we give everybody equal opportunity in education.”

Gboyega Afolabi, a visually challenged lawyer and the head of the Directorate of Legal Matters at Ekiti State University, expressed gratitude to JAMB for the platform.