Prof Okebukola
By TOM CHIAHEMEN, Abuja –
The Equal Opportunity Group (JEOG), set up by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has become a model for some African countries in their quest to cater the visually impaired candidates in their various high-stakes examinations.
A former Executive Secretary of NUC and Chairman of JEOG, Prof. Peter Okebukola, dropped this hint in a report on the conduct of the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for blind candidates which was coordinated by the Group.
The JEOG, set up in 2017 by JAMB, is made up of 42 senior academics, including experts in Special Education and other relevant stakeholders, with the Anglo-Nigeria Welfare Association for the Blind playing active roles in the exercise.
The Group also serves as the welfare entity for the blind particularly in the areas of examination and admission.
In a 77- paged report submitted to JAMB last week, Okebukola pointed out that the Board’s initiative has become a model adopted by several other African countries.
According to the erudite scholar, “So far, a respectable number of blind candidates processed through the JAMB Equal Opportunity Group (JEOG) have secured admission to Federal, State and Private universities.”
“The goal of the Oloyede-led JAMB is to ensure that no Nigerian who is eligible for the UTME, is prevented from taking the examination regardless of his/her disability,” he said.
Prof. Okebukola holds the firm view that there must be a level playing field for all candidates. As long as the candidate is intellectually capable.”
He averred that Prof. Oloyede, having served successfully and meritoriously as the Vice-Chancellor, University of Ilorin, Chairman of the Committee of Vice Chancellors (CVC) and Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (AVCNU) as well as the President of the Association of African Universities (AAU), saw the need to promote equity in the admission of deserving candidates in Africa irrespective of their challenges.
He said since 2017, JEOG has processed over 1, 680 candidates for the UTME with over one-third of them being admitted to programmes of their choice in higher education institutions in Nigeria.
He said, “In 2019, of the 390 candidates, a total of 175 (44.8%) were given admission. This was unprecedented in the history of admissions of such a category of students into the Nigerian higher education system. This is owing largely to the fact that the Board painstakingly follow-up on the blind candidates’ choices to ensure they get what they desire and are qualified for.”
Prof. Okebukola said, “Most of the candidates were admitted to the University of Ilorin, Bayero University, Kano, University of Lagos, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, University of Nigeria, Nsukka and University of Abuja.”
He commended the leadership of these institutions for giving due consideration to visually impaired candidates.
He added that a few weeks earlier, Bayero University, Kano, had offered more admission slots to blind candidates by expanding their carrying capacity for this category of students.
The former NUC boss said, “We express our appreciation to the following institutions which had, in 2020, admitted a large chunk of the 351 blind candidates who sat the UTME, the institutions are: Adamawa State University; Adekunle Ajasin University; Adeyemi College of Education; Akanu Ibiam Polytechnic; Alvan Ikoku College of Education; Aminu Sale College of Education; Baze University; Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo; College of Education, Ikerre-Ekiti; Ignatius Ajuru College of Education; Kogi State University; Lagos State University; Nasarawa State University; Niger Delta University; Nnamdi Azikiwe University; Obafemi Awolowo University; Sokoto State University; University of Benin; University of Ilorin; University of Jos; University of Maiduguri; Usmanu Danfodiyo University and Yobe State University.
The encouraging development in this regard in 2020 is that many more degree-awarding institutions are showing keen interest in admitting these qualified blind candidates.”
Continuing, Prof. Okebukola disclosed that for the 2021 UTME, the exercise was conducted in eleven centres nationwide.
This, according to him, was designed to bring the venue of the examination closer to the candidates especially with the prevailing security situation in the country.
He said the centres were coordinated by seasoned academics and university administrators stating that a total number of 332 candidates took the examination.
The 2021 UTME for the blind was coordinated by eleven distinguished professors in the eleven centres deployed for the examination.
The centres were: Abuja covering FCT, Benue, Niger, Kogi, Nasarawa and Kaduna, which had Prof. Sunday Ododo as the Coordinator; while Prof. Aderinoye Rashid coordinated the Ado-Ekiti Centre covering Ekiti and Ondo; Bauchi Centre covering Bauchi, Borno, Yobe, Taraba, Gombe had Prof. Salisu Shehu as the Coordinator; The Benin Centre which covered Edo and Delta was coordinated by Prof. Olufemi Balogun. At the Enugu Centre covering Imo, Ebonyi, Anambra, Enugu, Cross River, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Abia and Benue States, Emeritus Prof. Mosto Onuoha served as the coordinator.
Others were the Jos Centre that covered Plateau State and had Prof. M. N. Maiturare as the Coordinator; Kano Centre covering Kano, Jigawa, Katsina, Kaduna, had Prof. Muhammad Y. Bello as its Coordinator; Prof. Asabe Kabir coordinated Kebbi Centre which covered Kebbi and Sokoto States.
The Chairman, JEOG, Prof. Peter A. Okebukola coordinated the Lagos Centre which covered Lagos and Ogun States. The Oyo Centre comprising Oyo, Kwara and Osun States had Prof. Taoheed Adedoja as its Coordinator; Prof. Muhammad I. Yakassai coordinated the Yola Centre which consisted of Adamawa and Taraba States.
The credibility and quality of the Group has been seen in the quality of the examination as well as their judicious utilization of resources allocated to them.
All candidates and their guides were comfortably accommodated in hotels and fed during the period of the examination in all the centres in addition to the transport supplementation they received. Similarly, each candidate received a gift of a slate and stylus courtesy of the Registrar, JAMB.
(With a report by JAMBulletin)