Some 70,603 candidates sat for the 2024 National Common Entrance Examination into federal unity colleges on Saturday.

The registrar/CEO, National Examination Council, Ibrahim Wushishi, during the monitoring of the exercise in Abuja, said there was a reduction in registration compared to 2023, when 72,865 registered.

Reading the statistics, Mr Wushishi said the council registered 33,335 males and 37,268 females, a lower registration compared to 2023, with 34,064 males and 38,801 females.

According to him, the candidates were posted to sit the examination in 599 centres across the country.

He said that many factors were responsible for the lower registration, including the economy.

“There was a slight increase in the cost of registration and we all know what is happening in the economy. This affected everybody, especially those in the rural areas; candidates are not sponsored at this level,” he said.

Speaking on the promise made in 2023 by the then permanent secretary, David Adejo, that no underage candidate would be allowed to sit for the exams, Mr Wushishi said the council had implemented the decision.

“We have promised to address the situation of underage children taking the exams and we did. You will find out that most of the candidates you see here who look underage are not, because some of them have just one month to complete 10 years.

“So, in such cases, we excuse them to write; we don’t have any issue that has to do with any underage sitting these exams,” he added.

The chairman, Senate Committee on Basic and Secondary Education, Sen. Lawal Usman, commended NECO for the conduct of the examination.

Mr Usman, representing Kaduna Central, urged the council to upgrade its examinations to the ICT platform, just as they are conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board.

He said that sponsorship for NECO and JAMB was rolled out throughout his state.

“We contributed over N200 million to parents to be able to pay for the children’s NECO and JAMB. I call on other senators and house members to key into this because this is the foundation for every child,” he said.

Earlier, the permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Didi Walson-Jack, who spoke on the assessment of the examination, expressed satisfaction with the conduct.

“We’ve been monitoring the ongoing NECO exams; in the FCT, we have 55 centres, but we have so far monitored three.

“Generally, everything is going on well and we are happy with what NECO has put in place to ensure a smooth and seamless exercise,” she said.

The schools visited during the monitoring include Model Secondary School, Maitama and Government Day Secondary School, Wuse II. 

(NAN)