Inclusive Education Win: JAMB to Refund Fees for 84 Blind Candidates in 2025 UTME!
The 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), which is set to take place across designated centers in Nigeria between April 28 and 29, will feature 501 visually impaired candidates, according to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
Prof. Emeritus Peter Okebukola, the chairman of the JAMB Equal Opportunity Group (JEOG), said this at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday. JEOG was created in 2017 with the responsibility of making sure that applicants with special needs can take the UTME.
Prof. Okebukola stated that there will be no compromise on academic standards as the special needs candidates will take the identical test papers as their sighted counterparts.
The test questions are the same for the candidates as for their sighted counterparts. There is no lowering of standards in any way,” he stated.
He further underlined that in order to maintain equity and fairness, the exam procedure is modeled after the typical UTME framework.
Additionally, Okebukola disclosed that 84 applicants with visual impairments who scored at least five points on the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE) will have their UTME registration expenses reimbursed. Refunds will be given out at the appropriate testing locations.
Eleven locations around the country will host the UTME for candidates with visual impairments. With 107 registered applicants, Lagos is at the top of the list. Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun, a former vice-chancellor of Lagos State University, will serve as coordinator. Other prominent people in charge of different centers include
Kano: 91 applicants (Prof. Muhammad Bello)
Abuja: 41 applicants (Prof. Sunday Ododo)
Ado-Ekiti: 32 applicants (Prof. Rasheed Aderinoye)
Professional supervision and academic integrity are ensured by the fact that the majority of center coordinators are seasoned administrators and former university vice-chancellors.
Okebukola highlighted the program’s impact by stating that in 2024, over 70% of special needs candidates under JEOG, including those who are blind or visually handicapped, were admitted to postsecondary schools.
These applicants have been accepted into competitive programs in mass communication, computer science, special education, law, medicine, pharmacy, and civil engineering.
JEOG applicants have been admitted to the following institutions:
- Abdulkadir Kure University, Minna
- Abia State University, Uturu
- Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
- Air Force Institute of Technology, Kaduna
- Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo
- Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo
- Nile University, Abuja
- Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka
- Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife
- University of Ibadan
- University of Lagos
- University of Nigeria, Nsukka
- and others across the country
In February 2025, JAMB declared that candidates who are Foreign, Blind, Deaf, or Prison Inmates will not be required to take institutional pre-admission screening examinations. This was a progressive move toward inclusivity.
This action is a component of larger reforms aimed at guaranteeing equal access to education and lowering obstacles that marginalized candidates and those with special needs must overcome.
Institutions will now only admit these candidates if they meet the minimum UTME requirements, according to JAMB, and the Board will annually publish a list of qualified special needs candidates to help institutions make decisions.
The Board promised to keep an eye on accepted candidates’ academic progress and provide ongoing assistance throughout their academic careers.
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