Charles Uwakwe, Registrar of National Examination Council (NECO) says about 80,000 candidates took part in the national common entrance examination for admissions into the 104 Federal Government Colleges (Unity Schools) for 2018/2019 academic session which held on Saturday.
He disclosed the figure when he monitored the conduct of the examination at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja alongside, Anthony Anwuka, Minister of State for Education.
While noting that Lagos State has the highest number of candidates who registered for the examination, with over 25,000,he said Zamfara State has the lowest number of candidates that enrolled for the examination, with just 28 candidates.
He said the Council also made provision for children with special needs in line with the determination of the current administration to provide quality and inclusive education of the Nigerian children.
Uwakwe expressed satisfaction that the examination went on smoothly across the states including the North eastern part of the country, saying the team from the Council had left since Wednesday to the volatile states of the federation to ensure adequate preparation for the exercise.
He said based on the directive by the Minister of Education to extend the deadline for registration, the Council has allowed registration to go on, adding that he got information on Friday night that another 150 enrolled from one of the South East States.
He said: “Last night, I got that another 150 registered from one of the South East States. Like I said to you, the Honourable insisted that we should keep the doors open for our children, so that nobody will be disenfranchised and that is exactly what we have done, and we are very hopeful and very positive”.
Speaking on the number of the candidates to be admitted, he disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Education would determine the number of the candidates to be admitted based on the carrying capacity of the institutions.
While addressing journalists, Anthony Anwukah, Minister of State for Education, said he was satisfied with the smooth conduct of the examination based on what he saw on ground and reports from other states of the Federation.
He commended the National Examination Council (NECO) for adequate arrangements for a hitch-free examination.