A total of 15,281 candidates sat for the 2026 National Common Entrance Examination (NCEE) for admission into Federal and State Technical Colleges across Nigeria on Saturday.
The figure represents a significant decline from the 29,260 candidates who registered for the examination in 2025.
The examination comes amid efforts by President Bola Tinubu’s administration to promote Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) through incentives such as free tuition, a monthly stipend of N22,500 and start-up packages for graduates.
Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB), Mohammed Aminu Mohammed, attributed the drop in enrolment to the consolidation of subjects and the carrying capacities of the technical colleges.
Speaking after monitoring the examination in Uromi, Esan North East Local Government Area of Edo State, Mohammed said the examination was conducted in 203 centres nationwide.
He disclosed that 10,626 of the candidates were male, while 4,655 were female. According to him, Enugu State recorded the highest enrolment with 1,506 candidates, while Zamfara State had the lowest with only 14 candidates.
Mohammed said preliminary reports indicated that the examination commenced smoothly in most centres, with candidates conducting themselves orderly and officials performing their duties professionally.
He noted that the examination reflects the Federal Government’s commitment to strengthening TVET as a strategic pathway for youth empowerment, skills acquisition, entrepreneurship and economic self-reliance.
The NABTEB registrar commended candidates, parents, school administrators, invigilators, supervisors and security personnel for their cooperation and support towards the successful conduct of the exercise.
He added that the results of the examination would be released within 21 days.
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