Blind Candidate Employs Fellow Visually Impaired Person for UTME – JAMB

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board on Friday revealed that a blind candidate hired another visually impaired person to sit the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination on his behalf.

The JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, disclosed this during a briefing in Abuja while presenting updates on the conduct and outcome of the 2025 UTME.

He noted that the impersonation was discovered during the examination of 501 blind candidates under the JAMB Equal Opportunity Group, led by Prof. Peter Okebukola. The JEOG facilitates inclusive testing for candidates with disabilities.

“Sadly, one of them was also involved in impersonation by recruiting an undergraduate student who is also blind to come and write for another blind candidate,” he said.

He added, “JAMB refunds to the blind and some categories of challenged candidates their registration fee in addition to providing transportation, lodging and feeding for them.

“For the 2025 UTME, a total of 501 candidates were successfully examined by JEOG across 11 centres nationwide. The results are also being released today.”

Despite the incident, the registrar reaffirmed the Board’s commitment to supporting persons with disabilities.

“The Board remains committed to providing the necessary support for persons with disabilities aspiring to pursue tertiary education.

“The Prof. Peter Okebukola-led JAMB Equal Opportunity Group continues to demonstrate exceptional dedication in ensuring that these candidates are able to sit examinations, regardless of their challenges,” Oloyede said.

The 2025 UTME results were officially released to the public on Friday.

Ahead of the release, JAMB provided statistics on the performance of the 1.9 million candidates who participated in the exam. The figures show a staggering outcome—over 1.5 million candidates scored below 200, which is considered the average benchmark.

The UTME, which is scored over a total of 400 marks, tests candidates across four core subjects. While the Use of English is mandatory for all, candidates are allowed to choose three other subjects relevant to their intended course of study.

Reacting to the performance data, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said the results reflect the effectiveness of government efforts to curb exam malpractice.