The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has reduced the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) registration fee for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) from N5,000 to N3,500.
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, announced the fee cut during a pre-conference briefing for the first Africa Regional Conference on Equal Opportunity Access to Higher Education (ARCEAHED) on Monday, scheduled for September 17-18 in Abuja.
Oloyede noted that the conference, themed “Advancing Equal Opportunity Access to Higher Education: A Call to Action,” aims to broaden higher education access for persons with disabilities (PWDs), stating that the event will attract participants from Ethiopia, Malawi, and Egypt.
He highlighted several JAMB initiatives to promote inclusivity to include Specialised Testing Centres for PWDs, free application documents for those with five O’ level credits, and additional support such as transport and accommodation for visually impaired candidates.
“Providing the necessary assistive tools, such as braille machines and screen readers, to facilitate learning and testing and training educators to be more aware of the diverse needs of students and to employ inclusive teaching methodologies.”
Earlier in his remarks, Mr. Jake Epelle, CEO of the Albino Foundation, said, “We recognise those who champion inclusivity and have committed to advocating for persons with disabilities. Their efforts have given us a voice, and the disability community remains deeply grateful for their advocacy in education.”
