The 2024 National Common Entrance Examination (NCEE), conducted by the National Examinations Council (NECO) for admission to 110 Unity schools across the country, was taken on Saturday by 70,603 students.
While observing the exercise on Saturday at Government Day Secondary School, Wuse 2 Abuja, and Model Secondary School, Maitama, the Registrar of NECO, Prof. Dantani Wushishi, revealed this.
Wushishi reported that 599 locations throughout the nation hosted the exam.
He said that 33,335 men and 37,268 women registered for the 2024 NCEE, totalling 70,603, and provided a breakdown of candidates’ participation by gender.
He expressed regret that the 2024 registration was smaller than the 2023 total of 72,865, which included 34,064 males and 38,801 females.
According to data given by the council, Lagos had the most candidates overall (17,751), followed by the Federal Capital Territory (10,209 candidates) and Anambra (4,972 candidates) in third place.
The least number of candidates registered for the exercise were from Bayelsa, Borno, and Gombe, with 133, 138, and 174 candidates, respectively.
The head of NECO ascribed the low registration in 2024 to economic issues, noting that parents struggling with the economy’s effects were responsible for supporting candidates at this level and that the test board had slightly hiked the registration cost.
“For the males and females, last year’s registration was higher than this year’s registration this could be attributed to so many factors; economic factor is the most prevalent factor that could hinder this large registration,” he stated.
In addition, Wushishi denied that NECO had registered minors for the National Common Entrance Exam, emphasising that the pupils taking the test were either 10 years old or had a month or two to their 10th birthday.
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cc: Punch Ng
