The Nigeria Association of the Blind (NAB) has asked examination bodies to provide peaceful and conducive examination environment for candidates with disabilities.
Chairman, Nasarawa State of Nab, Mr. Olushu Stephen Shugba, made the appeal during a courtesy call to the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) headquarters in Bwari, Abuja. This contained in a statement by JAMB’s Head of Information, Dr. Fabian Benjamin.
He said the psychological and physical environment in which the 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) was conducted was respectful and educationally conducive for low vision and blind students. He further said examination bodies should manage the needs of candidates with disabilities by providing distraction-free exam venues.
“JAMB has given us high hopes to excel educationally. The conducive atmosphere created for our students to write the 2017 UTME was a gesture worthy of emulation by all other examination bodies nationally and internationally.”
He said the board had provided state-of-the-art equipment such as Braille-apex note computers and a conducive environment to blind candidates and those with visual impairment during the UTME.
In a remark, JAMB Registrar, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, said the board agreed to give equal opportunity to all candidates desirous of qualitative tertiary education regardless of any form of disability.
He said measures were put in place to make sure that students with disabilities got admission to read the desired courses of their choice. “The board will be conducting a supplementary examination for candidates. We want all candidates to be given equal opportunities and treated with utmost respect. The examination would cost fortune but for the candidates we are prepared to make any sacrifice,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, the Registrar while presenting the report of the 2017 UTME in Abuja had said about 85,000 candidates would retake the examination slated for July 1, 2017.
