By Felix Khanoba
Ahead of the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has waived payment of fees for UTME application documents for People Living With Disabilities (PLWD).
Registrar/Chief Executive of JAMB, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, who disclosed in Abuja, however, said such PLWD must posses a minimum of five credits in Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE).
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the First National Conference of JAMB Equal Opportunity Group (JEOG) in Abuja, Oloyede hinted that the gesture was in line with his commitment to expanding
access for PLWD by removing all forms of inhibition that could militate their career prospects.
He also disclosed that the Board spent an average of N50, 000 on each of this category of candidates in the conduct of the annual examination.
The JAMB boss, who thanked participants at the conference for their commitment and display of empathy and solidarity, charged them to sustain the tempo in their various institutions towards assisting the PLWD to achieve their future aspirations.
Also speaking during the two-day conference, the National President, National Association of Visually Impaired, Stanley Onyebuchi, said that some of their members are facing some sorts of rejection from tertiary education institutions in the areas of their choice courses.
Onyebuchi said when PLWD sought for admission in tertiary institutions, some of the schools castigate them, saying they were not meant to be in such places.
He also added that the economic hardship occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy had taken a toll on PLWD as many of them no longer continued their education.
The AUTHORITY reports that the conference which has its theme as : ‘Towards Increasing Equal Opportunity of Access to Higher Education in Nigeria’, also featured the unveiling of the Strategic Roadmap for Inclusive Access to Quality Higher Education in Nigeria 2024-2028.
