JAMB procures special computers for visually impaired to take 2015 UTME

THE Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) says it has procured gadgets to facilitate the participation of the visually impaired candidates in its Computer Based Test (CBT) in March.

The Head, Media and Publicity of JAMB, Mr Fabian Benjamin, made the disclosure in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos.

According to the statement the development is to ensure that no category of persons is left out during the forthcoming 2015 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination on the all CBT mode.

“The computers which are called Braillenote Apex is procured to ensure that the visually impaired candidates are all accommodated in the 2015 CBT.

“It will enable the visually impaired to read and answer questions via voice or Braille, hence making the examination all inclusive for all categories of candidates,” it said.

The statement said the Registrar of the board, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, took delivery of the equipment.

It quoted him as saying that Braillenote Apex reiterated the determination of the board to give all categories of candidate equal chance, regardless of their challenges.

The Braillenote Apex was acquired from an international software giant, Humanware, which is based in Europe.

It said that Ojerinde pointed out that the use of the Braillenote Apex was an attestation to the fact that the CBT was achievable by all categories of candidates irrespective of any disability.

The statement noted that arrangements had been put in place for the implementation of the CBT.

It said the success story recorded in the previous trials and challenges had put the board on a better pedestal to fine-tune its strategy to an unquantified success story.

The statement noted that Mr Pedro Polson, Chief Executive Officer, Humanware, said that the device was easy to use and had imminent advantages and features.

It said the device had the features that would curb the incidence of examination malpractice and make the visually impaired to take CBT with minimal assistance.

The statement said Polson commended the registrar for the giant stride he had taken in the sector, particularly his desire not to discriminate against any category of people desirous of tertiary education.

It noted JAMB’s massive investment on the visually impaired candidates and expressed optimism that with the development, the Nigerian education would be all inclusive.

The statement said that the board had demonstrated the required capacity to be a leading examination body globally.

It said that Polson also called on other stakeholders in Nigeria to equally key into the investment and buy the gadgets for their visually impaired candidates and students.

It added that the functionality of the machine was demonstrated at the South-West Resource Centre, an ICT Training Institute.

More than 20 visually impaired candidates and prospective candidates for the UTME were engaged and trained during the pilot trials.

“The demonstration is on-going as the registrar has directed the Psychometric Unit of the board to proceed to Lagos, Enugu and Gindiri zones to demonstrate the machine on the visually impaired candidates for the 2015 UTME,” it said. (NAN)