Three decades after, blind candidates still experience delay in WAEC results — Expert

A disability-inclusive specialist, Dr. Adebukola Adebayo, says blind candidates in Nigeria still face delays in receiving the West African Examination Council’s (WAEC) results three decades after he experienced similar challenges.

Adebayo, Founder of Inclusive Development Consults Limited, made the development known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Speaking on Monday in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, he said the recurring delays consequently shut blind candidates out of university admissions.

He described the delay experienced as unfair to blind candidates who sit for examinations alongside their sighted colleagues, but were made to wait for results.

He said: “Candidates with disabilities already battle accessibility challenges in classrooms. 

“Delaying their results adds another barrier at the critical transition from secondary school to university

“It is unfair; blind candidates sit the same exam on the same day with sighted candidates, they should not wait endlessly for results.

“I experienced this same problem about 30 years ago as a student. 

“It is painful that candidates coming after me are still going through it.”

Adebayo said the delay puts blind candidates at a serious disadvantage because most universities require WAEC results to complete admission before portal deadlines close.

He said: “Some candidates will lose admission not because they failed, but because WAEC results are not ready when JAMB and school portals close.

“The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) addressed this by ensuring results for blind candidates are released within two to three days.

“They have a technical committee and special centres that pay closer attention to candidates with disabilities.”

Adebayo, however, said both WAEC and the National Examinations Council (NECO) have continued to struggle with timely release for candidates with disabilities, especially blind candidates.

He called for transparency and accountability, saying that blaming exam centres does not hold water as his findings showed that even for the May/June 2026 examination, blind candidates are yet to receive results.

The disability-inclusive specialist said that the situation was not limited to the current examination cycle, noting that the problem had persisted in spite of repeated experiences by blind candidates over the years.

Adebayo, therefore, urged WAEC to disclose the actual challenges responsible for the delays, stressing that stakeholders could not develop an effective solution without transparency and accountability from the examination body.

He said that WAEC could learn from JAMB’s approach of evolving dedicated arrangements for managing examinations for blind and other candidates with disabilities.

He said that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) established a technical committee and special centres for examinations involving candidates with disabilities, adding that such arrangements had helped ensure closer attention to their specific examination needs.

The inclusive-disability specialist called on WAEC to convene a meeting of stakeholders, including disability organisations and examination experts, to identify the causes of the recurring delays and develop a sustainable solution.

He advised that the outcome of such consultations should be documented in a standard manual guiding the conduct, processing, and management of examinations involving candidates with disabilities nationwide.

Adebayo stressed that a standardised process would ensure that candidates received similar treatment irrespective of the location of their examination centres or changes in personnel responsible for administering the examination.

Reacting, Moyosola Adesina, the Public Relations Officer of WAEC in Lagos, said the examination body was working to address the issue.

Adesina promised that the matter would be resolved very soon.

NAN.