The minister of education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, has revealed that no fewer than 76,855 candidates sat for the 2021 National Common Entrance Examinations (NCEE) into the 110 unity schools across the country. He made the disclosure while monitoring the conduct of the entrance exam in some centres at the federal capital territory (FCT) on Saturday, June 5.

Adamu, who was represented by the ministry’s permanent secretary, Sonny Echono said successful candidates would have the choice of choosing their preferred college for their post-primary education in each of the geo-political zones, adding that the idea would encourage applicants to have opportunities to choose any region of their choice.

Also speaking, the acting registrar of NECO, Ebikibina Ogborodi, said the 76,855 candidates which include 37,300 males and 39,555 females are vying for the 30,000 admission slots, with Lagos having the highest registration with 21,423 candidates followed by FCT with 8,674 while Anambra and Zamfara occupied the third and fourth spots with 5,730 and 4,855 candidates respectively.

He said Taraba state had the least with 113 candidates and enjoined relevant stakeholders to ensure improvement in subsequent registration.