LAGOS – The 2025 version of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) moderated by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) started Monday, April 28 at 11 designated centres throughout Nigeria with particular, extra-humane consideration for particular candidates – the Folks Residing With Disabilities (PLWDs).
JAMB, below the management of Prof Ish’aq Oloyede, the integrity-conscious registrar of the board, initiated the PLWDs – centered side of the UTME since 2017, although it had remained largely unsung all of the whereas however with this 12 months’s version, Oloyede and his crew have turned JAMB and UTME right into a supply of succour for the particular candidates, a beacon of hope for a greater Nigeria.
Christened the JAMB Equal Alternative Group (JEOG), the venture is designed to make sure absolute consolation for the visually impaired and different bodily challenged candidates all through the length of their very own side of the gateway examination, the UTME.Briefing the media on the sideline of the examination holding on the Distance Studying Institute of the College of Lagos, Prof Lanre Fagbohun, the Coordinator of Lagos Centre (comprising Lagos and Ogun States), defined that the JEOG venture is a brainchild of the Registrar and Chief Government Officer of JAMB deliberately and compassionately designed not just for the consolation of the particular candidates of the important examination however to make sure whole Inclusivity for all candidates no matter their bodily challenges.
Fagbohun recalled: “Someday in 2017, JAMB put collectively a physique often known as the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Equal Alternative Group with the acronym JEOG.
“The purpose of the physique is to take a look at how one can create an equal alternative for individuals residing with disabilities and these are individuals who have issues with imaginative and prescient, those that have listening to impairment, those that have locomotor (motion) drawback.“So, JAMB felt that these persons are additionally champions in their very own rights however in case you put them below the identical situation on the common centre with candidates who haven’t any incapacity, no one will recognise the necessity to give them the particular care and a focus that they deserve.
“That was how JEOG was created and the chairman of the physique is Distinguished Emeritus Prof Peter Okebukola.
“There are eleven centres throughout the nation. I’m the Coordinator of the Lagos Centre comprising Lagos and Ogun States. Prof Okebukola is the Chairman of all of the 11 centres.
“What we (the physique) do is that this; after JAMB has introduced we’re going to have the UTME examination, we at JEOG will suggest two or three days for us to have the ability to take care of the individuals with particular wants. We’d have gotten a listing of the candidates who had reported one incapacity or the opposite as required of their software kinds, whilst we guarantee there is no such thing as a capturing error of their topic mixtures.
” After JAMB should have permitted, we take a look at our checklist of all of the individuals residing with disabilities from Lagos and Ogun States, we are going to extract their names and begin calling them one after the other two months forward of the date of their examination. One purpose for that is to make sure that the candidates are inside the centre zone in order that if we discover out for instance that you’re in Enugu, we let you know to write down your examination at Enugu centre.
“We additionally wish to make sure that we all know the issues we have to put together for you forward of your arrival and when we’ve got confirmed all of that we’ll name to let you know to reach a day earlier than your examination day.”
The soothing shock about all this compassionate gesture of JEOG and JAMB is that Fagbohun disclosed that from the night of arrival of the particular candidates and their one accompanying information every, are ushered into their resort rooms already organized for them forward of their arrival and they’re served dinner all on the expense of JAMB.
Transport and logistics between their resort rooms and the examination centre and different logistics are additionally absolutely borne by JAMB-JEOG.
It’s price mentioning as properly that even doable well being emergency improvement is foreseen and an ambulance car is seen on standby.
Not that alone, all of the particular candidates are equipped with free items of the Brail and Stylus in addition to different aiding services as could also be wanted by the particular candidates based on their particular person space of challenges.Even those that have the problem of utilizing their arms however can hear, hear and comprehend loud studying are supplied with particular guides on the expense of the physique to assist write the precise reply dictated by the candidates after the questions have been learn out.
Prof Fagbohun was filled with applause for Prof Oloyede, the extremely performing Registrar of JAMB who initiated the JEOG venture.The speedy previous VC of LASU additionally gave Kudos to Prof Okebukola for the great work he had been doing because the Chairman of JEOG.Fagbohun, the Akesan Prince suggested mother and father who occur to have such particular kids by no means to surrender on them, enthusing that kids with such disabilities are sometimes loaded with skills that have to be found and harnessed not just for the good thing about the kid and household but in addition to the company good thing about the bigger society and the world.The professor of environmental regulation additionally enjoined all Nigerians to consider in Nigeria.That is whilst he added that academic establishments should start to recalibrate their programmes and administration in such a manner that may conveniently accommodate and inclusively cater for the individuals residing with disabilities.
In a random chat with just a few of the mother and father and guides of the particular candidates on the Lagos Centre, Pastor Maria Adesina, a mom to one of many particular candidates on the Lagos Centre expressed her nice shock at what JAMB launched for the inclusive consolation of the candidates with particular wants. ” I’m personally grateful to Prof Oloyede, JAMB and all of the workers answerable for the centre for the fantastic job they’re are all doing.and this has satisfied me that there’s nonetheless a lot hope for Nigeria”; Adesina enthused.Deaconess Kaliku Reward, one other mom on the centre stated, ” IAM very impressed by what I’ve seen right here at the moment. If JAMB might simply sustain with this method, there could be a lot brighter hope the particular college students and the way forward for the nation. I want that WAEC and others might simply emulate JAMB on this regard.”Mr Badipe Olatubosun described the event as laudable and expressed gratitude to JAMB and JEOG. He , nonetheless, requested that the federal government must also create an enabling setting for gainful employment for the PLWDs after facilitating the chance for them to actualise themselves educationally.One other elated dad or mum by the title Engr Adebowale Adegbayi acclaimed the JEOG gesture as a giant shock and expressed the hope that Nigeria will not be completed in spite of everything.Earlier, the consultant of the Lagos State Authorities on the Centre, Dr Adekola had inspired the candidates to not lose hope in any respect that LASODA, a Lagos state workplace particularly created to cater for the affairs of the individuals residing with disabilities is there to make sure that all the pieces regarding them is addressed, together with the reassurance of gainful employment for them on the completion of their tutorial pursuits whilst formally offered for in state Employment Act.
