Lagos Tops As 80,000 Write Common Entrance Exams For Unity Schools
Lagos State led other 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja with the highest number of candidates that Saturday, wrote the 2018 Common Entrance Examination for admission into the 104 federal government colleges in the country otherwise known as unity schools.
The Special Adviser to Edo State Governor on Basic Education and Sole Administrator, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Dr. Joan Osa Oviawe, monitoring the Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination at Oredo Girls School in Benin City, Edo State recently.
This came as the Registrar of the National Examination Council, NECO, Prof. Charles Uwakwe, said the Federal Ministry of Education would determine the number of the candidates to be admitted based on the carrying capacity of the institutions in the country.
Uwakwe, who was in Abuja in company of the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Anthony Anwuka, revealed that Lagos State had the highest number of candidates who registered for the examination, with over 25,000, but said the consideration was not by state of origin. Similarly, he said Zamfara State had the lowest number of candidates that enrolled for the examination. He said NECO, the examination regulatory body, also made provision for children with special needs in line with the determination of the current administration to provide quality and inclusive education of the Nigerian children.
On his part, Minister of State for Education, Anthony Anwukah, who monitored the exercise in Abuja, said he was satisfied with the smooth conduct of the examination based on what he saw on ground and reports from other states.
The Minister monitored the exercise at the Government Secondary School, Wuse Zone 3 and Government Secondary School, Tudun-Wada, Wuse Zone 4, all in Abuja.
He commended the National Examination Council (NECO) for adequate arrangements for a hitch-free examination.
NECO Registrar, Prof. Charles Uwakwe, told newsmen that the examination went on smoothly across the states including the north eastern part of the country, saying the team from the Council had left since Wednesday to the volatile states of the federation to ensure adequate preparation for the exercise.
He noted that the significant increase in the number of candidates that enrolled for the examination was as a result of the insistence of the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, that the Council should keep open doors to allow more candidates register for the examination.
He said based on the Minister’s directive, the Council has allowed registration to go on, adding that he got information on Friday night that another 150 enrolled from one of the South East States.
He said: “Last night, I got that another 150 registered from one of the South East States. Like I said to you, the Honourable insisted that we should keep the doors open for our children, so that nobody will be disenfranchised and that is exactly what we have done, and we are very hopeful and very positive”.
