A total number of 92,591 candidates sat for the 2019/2020 common Entrance Examination conducted by the National Examination Council NECO, on Saturday, October 17, in 639 centers nationwide. This is despite the continuous holding of the EndSARS protests across major cities of the country the same day.
The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, disclosed this in Abuja while monitoring the entrance examination in the Federal capital Territory. He expressed satisfaction that ongoing #ENDSARS Protest did not cause an obstruction to the exercise, The minister who also commended the strict compliance of the examination centres and candidates to COVID-19 guidelines and protocols, adding that government had noted areas of improvement in planning for future exercises.
Also Read: NECO restates commitment to conducting effective examination
Adamu also noted that the results of the common entrance examination will soon be out so as to make up for the first term , and bridge the gaps in missed classes occasioned by the CORONAVIRUS pandemic induced closure of schools.
The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, Sonny Echono, on his part said the current carrying capacity of the 104 Federal government colleges is 30,000. According to him, six new colleges have been established to create more access and improve available spaces for intending candidates.
Echono commended the significant improvement in the number of registered candidates from Zamfara State which is 1,742, stating that this is the highest from the state since the history of the examination.
NECO Registrar, Professor Godswill Obioma, disclosed that over 280 internal monitors were recruited.
According to Professor Obioma, 26,006 candidates registered for the exams in Lagos state, 9,763 in FCT-Abuja, Anambra 6,440, Imo 4,781, Enugu, 4457, Delta, 2,929, Niger, 2766, Oyo, 2,258, Ogun 2,600 and Kaduna 1197 candidates.
Among the candidates are 44,041 male and 48,550 female candidates as well as a total of 22 visually impaired candidates also sat for the entrance exams across Nigeria.
