In alignment with its commitment to inclusivity, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has decided to exclude diagrams, illustrations, and maps from test items designated for the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for candidates with disabilities. The Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, shared this information during a virtual meeting with the nation’s Commissioners of Education held in Abuja.
The Registrar emphasized the Board’s intention to eliminate diagrams, illustrations, and maps in questions designed for blind candidates during the 2024 UTME. These modified questions will maintain the same difficulty level as other test items. Additionally, the Registrar briefed the participants on concerns raised about the lack of sufficient attention to the challenges faced by candidates with disabilities beyond blindness and deafness in the registration and conduct of the UTME.
To address these concerns, special provisions will be implemented to ensure that candidates with disabilities, regardless of their specific situation, are not disadvantaged. The Registrar highlighted that these initiatives are in line with resolutions made at the recently concluded conference titled “National Conference on Equal Opportunity of Access to Higher Education in Nigeria,” organized by the JAMB-Equal Opportunity Group (JEOG).
The Registrar specified that the JEOG has been actively coordinating matters related to candidates with disabilities for the Board. He announced the inclusion of specific categories of candidates, namely Down Syndrome, Autism, Dyslexia, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), under the disability group recognized by the Board.
