NABTEB Enrolment Drops by 47.7% as 75% of Candidates Pass 2026 Entrance Examination

• Only 15,290 candidates registered for the 2026 technical college entrance examination, compared to 29,260 in 2025.
• More than 75% of candidates scored at least 50%, while over 41% obtained 70% and above.
• Board announces supplementary entrance examination to boost admission into technical colleges.

The National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB) has announced a sharp decline in enrolment for its 2026 National Common Entrance Examination into Technical Colleges, even as the majority of candidates who sat for the examination recorded pass marks.

The Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of NABTEB, Dr Aminu Mohammed, disclosed the figures on Tuesday while announcing the results of the nationwide examination conducted on June 13.

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According to him, only 15,290 candidates registered for the 2026 entrance examination, representing a drop of 13,970 candidates from the 29,260 recorded in 2025.

READ ALSO: NABTEB Extends 2026 NCEE Registration, Shifts Exam To June 13

He described the decline as a 47.74 per cent reduction in enrolment compared to the previous year.

Despite the lower registration, Mohammed said 13,848 candidates, representing 90.57 per cent of those who enrolled, sat for the examination, while 1,442 candidates were absent.

On candidates’ performance, the NABTEB registrar said the results showed that most of the candidates met the minimum benchmark for admission into technical colleges.

He disclosed that 10,426 candidates, representing 75.29 per cent of those who sat for the examination, scored 50 per cent and above, while 5,708 candidates, or 41.22 per cent, obtained scores of 70 per cent and above.

He added that 3,422 candidates, representing 24.71 per cent, scored below the 50 per cent pass mark.

According to him, 31 candidates, representing 0.22 per cent of the total number of candidates who wrote the examination, recorded outstanding performances by scoring 96 per cent and above.

Mohammed explained that candidates registered for 28 different trades grouped into five major clusters: Mechanical Technology, Electrical Technology, Construction Technology, Creative and Culinary Technology, and Agricultural Technology.

He said Electrical Installation and Maintenance Practice recorded the highest enrolment with 3,870 candidates.

This was followed by Computer Hardware and GSM Repairs/Maintenance, which attracted 2,857 candidates.

Other programmes with high enrolment included Catering Craft Practice with 1,780 candidates, Bricklaying, Blocklaying and Concreting with 1,553 candidates, Automobile Mechanics with 1,156 candidates, and Fashion Design and Garment Making, which recorded 940 candidates.

At the other end of the enrolment scale, Tiling and Cladding attracted only one candidate, while Social Media Content Creation and Management recorded two candidates.

Fish Farming Activities had three candidates, Motorcycle and Tricycle Repairs recorded five candidates, Creative Media attracted six candidates, Automobile Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Conversion had nine candidates, while Leather Works recorded 18 candidates.

The registrar also announced that registration for the supplementary National Common Entrance Examination would begin before the end of July to provide another opportunity for prospective students seeking admission into technical colleges.

He reiterated NABTEB’s commitment to promoting technical and vocational education through competency-based examinations that equip young Nigerians with practical skills for employment, self-reliance and entrepreneurship.

Mohammed noted that the board would continue to strengthen technical education in the country through credible examinations and programmes designed to support skills development.

As part of its statutory mandate, NABTEB conducts technical and vocational examinations across Nigeria, including the National Common Entrance Examination into Technical Colleges, as well as examinations leading to the award of the National Technical Certificate (NTC) and National Business Certificate (NBC).

The board recalled that during the 2025 June/July NBC and NTC examinations, it registered 92,875 candidates across 1,892 examination centres nationwide, with 89,621 results successfully processed, representing 96.5 per cent of total enrolment.

It also reported a 37.08 per cent increase in candidate enrolment and a 10.77 per cent rise in the number of examination centres compared to 2024.

NABTEB further disclosed that the pass rate in Mathematics improved to 94.6 per cent in 2025, while examination malpractice cases dropped slightly from 524 cases in 2024 to 516 cases in 2025, attributing the improvement to enhanced monitoring and stricter examination integrity measures.