JAMB stops parents selecting courses for their children with disabilities

The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that parents will no longer have the authority to select courses for their children with disabilities when they are applying for admission to tertiary institutions.

This decision was made in response to comments from Stanley Onyebuchi, the National President of the National Association of Visually Impaired, during the First Conference of JAMB Equal Opportunity Group (JEOG) in Abuja.

The conference focused on increasing equal access to higher education in Nigeria and also featured the unveiling of the Strategic Roadmap for Inclusive Access to Quality Higher Education in Nigeria 2024-2028.

The representative from JAMB said,

• “There is the case of the student who wanted to study law, but her stepfather said he would allow her to go as far as Calabar to study law, so asked that she be enrolled in Kaduna State University.
• “This is because the course she showed interest in was not available at the university but the father asked that she study special education.
• “We have now decided that henceforth, just like with regular admissions, no parent will be allowed to have a say in the admission choice of candidates with disabilities”.

In his opening remarks, Oloyede emphasized that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is committed not only to facilitating access to education but also to ensuring equity.

Special arrangements have therefore been put in place to promote the inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in tertiary education.