Ten years after its establishment, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board Equal Opportunity Group (JEOG), has supported no fewer than 4,216 candidates with disabilities in accessing tertiary education, with an average of 53 per cent gaining admission annually into universities, polytechnics and colleges of education across the country.

Chairman of JEOG, Emeritus Professor Peter Okebukola, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja while speaking with journalists on the sidelines of the 2026 JEOG National Stakeholder Engagement on Inclusivity and Higher Education.

The event, which marked the group’s 10th anniversary, also focused on how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be deployed to strengthen inclusive higher education in Nigeria.

Prof. Okebukola said the programme was convened to review a decade of JEOG’s interventions and chart a new course for expanding access to higher education for persons living with disabilities.

“We are reviewing what we have achieved in the last 10 years and looking ahead. One of the major issues that will shape the future of higher education is Artificial Intelligence, and we are examining how AI can improve the efficiency of inclusivity in higher education,” he said.

According to him, the initiative, established by the outgoing JAMB Registrar, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, has continued to ensure that candidates with disabilities enjoy equal opportunities without compromising academic standards.

Giving an account of the programme’s impact, Okebukola said 4,216 candidates with different forms of disabilities,including visual impairment, autism, down syndrome, albinism and other conditions, have participated in the initiative over the past decade.

He stressed that beneficiaries sit for the same Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) as every other candidate.

“We do not lower standards for them. They answer the same questions as every other candidate, and I am continually amazed by how excellently they perform. Many of them are exceptionally brilliant,” he said.

Describing the candidates as a source of inspiration, Okebukola added that many of them excel in demanding disciplines, including Law and other professional courses.

“They study Law, Medicine and several other courses. They graduate successfully because they are highly talented and determined,” he noted.

Responding to concerns over whether Nigerian tertiary institutions possess adequate facilities to support students with disabilities, the former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), said institutions have continued to improve their capacity over the years.

He said: “For 10 years they have been admitting these students and graduating them. If the institutions lacked the capacity, they would not have succeeded. We are, however, encouraging continuous improvement in teaching aids and support systems”.

Okebukola also unveiled another major intervention by JEOG, a comprehensive manual designed to guide the management of underaged students admitted into tertiary institutions.

He explained that the resource material was developed following JAMB’s concern over the social and emotional preparedness of exceptionally brilliant candidates below the age of 16 who gain admission into universities.

According to him, the manual provides guidance for parents, lecturers, vice-chancellors, rectors, provosts and other stakeholders on how to protect underage students from bullying, exploitation and other challenges associated with campus life.

He revealed that the publication was developed after consultations with 468 scholars as well as underage students already studying in tertiary institutions, whose experiences and challenges were incorporated into the document.

“The first cohort of about 96 underage students has already entered universities. The manual is to ensure they do not fall by the wayside or become victims of bullying and exploitation,” he explained.

As part of activities commemorating the group’s decade-long journey, Okebukola also announced the publication of a commemorative book titled “A Peep into the Future of Higher Education in Nigeria.”

The volume, he said, honours Professor Is-haq Oloyede’s contributions to educational development and features chapters by 44 scholars selected from nearly 700 contributors.

The contributors examined the current state of higher education in Nigeria, projected where the sector should be in the next decade and proposed practical pathways for achieving that vision.