As the registration for the 2024 Unified Territory Matriculation Examination (UTME) commenced today, the Joint Admission and Matriculations Board has approved free registration for Persons Living With Disabilities who wish to sit for the exam.
Prof Ishaq Oloyede, the JAMB Registrar, who made this known while rolling out the registration process for interested candidates across the country, said the board will issue free application documents to all categories of Persons Living With Disabilities as a form of support.
He said, “To support the PLWD, JAMB will issue free application documents to all categories of Persons Living with Disabilities in the advertisement for the 2024 UTME/DE.”
Oloyede, who disclosed that measures had been put in place to ensure a smooth exercise for all candidates, said audiobooks will now be provided for all blind candidates, adding that the development was a digital adaptation of the traditional reading book, noting that it will come in popular audio formats such as MP3, WMV, and WMA which will be compatible with all devices that can stream audio records.
He said the suggestion for providing audiobooks was made at the first National Conference on Equal Opportunity of Access to Higher Education in Nigeria.
Apart from the blind candidates, other groups to benefit from the free registration, according to the examination body, are people with Down syndrome, Autism, Dyslexia disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
“The following categories of candidates will now be listed under the disability group: Down syndrome, Autism, Dyslexia disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),” he said.
The Informant247 reports that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) announced in November that the sale of its Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) will commence on 15th January and end on 26th February 2024.
In a statement signed by JAMB Public Communication Advisor(PAC), Dr Fabian Benjamin and issued to media on Wednesday, the Board also fixed 7th March 2024 for the 2024 MOCK-UTME, while the main UTME will hold from 19th to 29th April 2024.
According to Benjamin, the decision was based on the series of recommendations emanating from a two-day Information Technology (IT) and Management Retreat held between 26th and 28th November 2023, adding that the Candidates were expected to print their examination slips from 10th April 2024.