By Ngozi Nwankwo
No fewer than 58,187 candidates on Saturday sat for the 2026 National Common Entrance Examination (NCEE) conducted by the National Examinations Council (NECO) for admission into Federal Government Colleges across the country.
The Registrar of NECO, Prof. Ibrahim Wushishi, disclosed this while briefing journalists after monitoring the examination alongside the Minister of State for Education, Suwaiba Said Ahmad, in Abuja.
Wushishi said the figure represented a decline from the 64,578 candidates who registered for the examination in 2025.
He noted that female candidates constituted the majority of those who registered for this year’s examination, with more than 31,000 girls compared to about 26,000 boys.
According to him, the development reflects the impact of government efforts aimed at promoting girl-child education across the country.
“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.
Speaking on the conduct of the examination, the NECO registrar said reports received from centres nationwide indicated that the exercise was largely successful and free of major challenges.
After inspecting three examination centres in Abuja, Ahmad expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the exercise, describing the process as orderly and well-coordinated.
“We have been to three schools and I am happy with the conduct of the examination in all the centres visited,” she said.
“The students are orderly, well seated and the examination started on time. I have also looked at the registration documents of the students and observed that the guidelines regarding the prescribed age bracket for the examination were adhered to.”
The minister, however, raised concerns over the number of candidates absent from some centres.
She disclosed that about 18 candidates were absent in one of the examination halls visited and stressed the need to investigate the reasons behind the absenteeism.
Ahmad also commended the availability of facilities at the centres visited and reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to improving educational infrastructure to support effective teaching and learning nationwide.