The National Business and Technical Examinations Board, NABTEB, has said that a total of 15,281 candidates enrolled for admission into technical colleges across the country in 2026.
DAILY POST reports that Dr. Mohammed Aminu Mohammed, the Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the board, disclosed this on Saturday, June 13, 2026, during the monitoring of the National Common Entrance Examination (NCEE) into technical colleges in Nigeria at Uromi, Esan North-East Local Government Area of Edo State.
Mohammed said the figure for 2026 was over 8,000 lower than the 2025 figure of over 24,000 candidates.
He said that out of the 15,281 candidates, 10,626 were males, while 4,655 were females.
He also disclosed that Enugu State recorded the highest number of candidates with 1,506, while Zamfara State had the lowest number, with only 14 candidates.
The NABTEB boss added that the examination, which took place simultaneously in 203 centres nationwide, marked another milestone in the Federal Government’s commitment to strengthening Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).
He further stated that TVET remains a strategic pathway for national development, youth empowerment, skills acquisition, entrepreneurship and economic self-reliance.
According to him, “We are at the Federal Technical College, Uromi, Edo State, for the monitoring of the 2026 National Common Entrance Examination into all technical colleges in Nigeria, which is taking place today across the nation in 203 centres.
“The Federal Technical College, Uromi, happens to be one of the colleges. The assessment in this examination is far better than what we had last year. Last
