Lagos records 13,228 candidates, Taraba 15 as 58,187 sit for 2026 common entrance exam
Ibrahim Wushishi, registrar of the National Examinations Council (NECO), says 58,187 candidates sat for the 2026 national common entrance examination (NCEE) for admission into federal government colleges across the country.
Speaking on Saturday during a monitoring exercise in Abuja, the NECO registrar said the figure was lower than the 64,578 candidates who registered for the examination in 2025.
Wushishi disclosed that female candidates outnumbered their male counterparts in this year’s registration, with more than 31,000 girls registered compared to about 26,000 boys.
He attributed the development to ongoing efforts by the federal ministry of education to promote girl-child education.
“I think this reflects the efforts of the ministry in promoting girl-child education and shows that positive results are being achieved in that regard,” he said.
The NECO registrar said Taraba recorded the lowest number of registered candidates with 15, while Lagos had the highest with 13,228 candidates.
He added that reports received from across the country indicated that the examination was largely hitch-free.
Also speaking during the monitoring exercise, Suwaiba Ahmad, minister of state for education, expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the examination after visiting three centres in Abuja.
“We have been to three schools, and I am happy with the conduct of the examination in all the centres visited. The students are orderly, well seated and the examination started on time,” the minister said.
Ahmad said the registration documents presented by candidates complied with the prescribed age requirements for admission into federal government colleges.
The minister, however, expressed concern over absenteeism after observing that about 18 candidates were absent in one of the examination halls visited.
She urged education authorities to investigate the reasons behind the absences.
Ahmad also noted that the centres visited had the necessary facilities and reiterated the federal government’s commitment to improving infrastructure for teaching and learning across the country.
The minister and the NECO registrar monitored the examination at Model Secondary School, Maitama; Government Science Technical College, Garki; and Federal Government Boys’ College, Garki, all in Abuja.
