In continuation of his advocacy visits in respect of the ongoing 2023 UTME/DE registration exercise, the Abia State Coordinator, Mr. Johnson
Adebiyi has paid a working visit to the Nigerian Correctional Service, Umuahia, to sensitise qualified Prison Inmates on the need to register for the ongoing 2023
UTME/DEregistration.
According to the State Coordinator, the visit was to acquaint the Inmates with the facilities put in place by the Board to ensure a seamless registration and examination exercises for candidates with special needs in the 2023 UTME.
He stated that the advocacy visit was meant to enlighten the Prison Inmates on the requirements for the 2023 UTME/DE registration along with the waivers provided for Inmates that meet extant
admission criteria put in place by both the Board and the Management of Tertiary Institutions across the country.
One of the facilities outlined by him was that the Board and the Institutions had resolved that all Foreign, Blind, Deaf and Prison Inmates are to be exempted from
all pre-admission screening tests in their institutions of choice.
He added that for every year preceding the admission exercise, the lists of respective special
needs cand id ates would be made
available to the various Tertiary
Institutions for guidance and necessary action.
The State Coordinator submitted that the special waiver is an affirmative action meant to accommodate candidates with
special needs.
He stressed that the Board
and the Tertiary Institutions would
ensure that special needs candidates, who meet the specified minimum requirements are admitted and their progress monitored in the various
institutions for confirmation of the
effectiveness of the policy as directed by the 2021 Policy Meeting.
Furthermore, Mr. Adebiyi stated that the Board had put in place adequate measures to guard against some candidates taking undue advantage of the waiver.
He added that the Board had,
through the policy, helped to place Prison Inmates into tertiary institutions of their choice, thereby enabling them to help themselves, their families and their communities, after the completion of their prison terms.
In his remarks, the Controller of the Nigerian Correctional Service Umuahia, Mr. Anthony Ubaike, expressed gratitude to the State Coordinator for the advocacy
and promised him to take all measures to ensure the readiness of qualified Inmates to take advantage of the window of
the opportunity provided by the Board and the Tertiary Institutions in the country.
