Dictation hampering UTME scores for blind students

School administrators say administering the Unified Tertiary Matriculation  Examination  (UTME) by dictation is hampering the performance of visually impaired candidates. Chioma Ohakwe,  proprietor of  Bethesda Home for the Blind, Mushin, Lagos, said use of Braillenote Apex machines for administration of UTME to the blind  was preferred. “We have carefully looked at all the variables surrounding […]

School administrators say administering the Unified Tertiary Matriculation  Examination  (UTME) by dictation is hampering the performance of visually impaired candidates.

Chioma Ohakwe,  proprietor of  Bethesda Home for the Blind, Mushin, Lagos, said use of Braillenote Apex machines for administration of UTME to the blind  was preferred.

“We have carefully looked at all the variables surrounding the administration of this examination through the dictation mode, and we discovered that they (blind candidates)  prefer the Braillenote Apex machine.

“We also discovered that since the introduction of the dictation mode, the performance of the candidates have been dropping.

“Those concerned need to reconsider the administration of UTME through the machine as it gives the candidates a freehand to listen carefully, comprehend questions and choose  answers.

“With  the machine, it is expected that each candidate is self-reliant and writes what he or she knows,” Ohakwe said.

“She told NAN that, with the dictation mode, many blind candidates  complained after UTME that examiners were either too fast and would not repeat questions and options or they (blind candidates) could not understand clearly what was read.

According to the proprietress, the performance of candidates from the school in the recently-concluded UTME  was not impressive as the highest score was  233.

“”A total of 25 candidates from this home wrote the 2018 UTME; all of them sailed through the borderline of 200.

“”The highest score posted by the candidates was 233 with the lowest  being 204.

““This performance is below what was obtained in the 2017 diet of the same examination.

“During the 2017 diet, the highest score among the 23 candidates that wrote the examination was 256 with the lowest score, 200.

“”I will say that though the mode for the administration of this examination for the years under review was the same, the performance for 2017 was better because questions were read  for two to three times for better comprehension by candidates,’’ she said.

Ohakwe appealed to the organisers of the examination, JAMB, to revert to the use of Braillenote Apex machines for subsequent examinations.