78, 378 jostle for spaces  in 104 unity schools

Minister Commends NECO For Hitch-Free Entrance Exams.

No fewer than 78, 378 candidates, yesterday, sat for the National Common Entrance Examination nationwide, seeking admission into the 104 federal government colleges in the 2017/2018 academic session.

Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, while monitoring the exercise in some centres in Abuja, commended the National Examination Council (NECO), for a hitch-free, and orderly conduct of the test.

He said the examination was held in all the states of the federation, including Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, where relative peace has returned, in the aftermath of the Boko Haram insurgency, which has ravaged the three North East states.

Examination centres were restricted to urban areas in the three troubled states.Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of NECO, Prof. Charles Uwakwe, told newsmen after monitoring the exercise in Abuja that the examination took place in 598 centres across the country and one foreign centre, in Cotonou, Benin Republic.

He said adequate security measures were put in place by the council to ensure a hitch-free exercise, especially in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.Uwakwe added that reports from across the country, indicated that the exercise was peaceful and orderly.

“The quality of the exams is excellent but like any other human endeavour, there is every room for improvement. For the better part of several days, we have not slept because of logistics issues. It’s a one day exams but it is quite tasking,” he said.

The NECO boss disclosed that Lagos State recorded the highest enrolment with 24, 816 candidates, while Kebbi State had only 63 pupils registering for the test, the lowest in the country.

He said the result of examination would be released by NECO to the Federal Ministry of Education on Wednesday, April 12, 2017, after which the ministry would direct the council to release it to the public.