The National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB) has revealed that only 39 percent of candidates who sat for the 2025 entrance examination into federal and state technical colleges scored 50 percent or above.
The registrar of NABTEB, Prof. Mohammed Aminu Mohammed, disclosed this on Wednesday during the commencement of the 2025/2026 National Common Entrance Examination (NCEE) selection and placement exercise in Benin City, Edo State.
According to the examination body, a total of 29,260 candidates registered for the exam across 203 centres nationwide.
However, only 24,074 students participated, while 5,186 (17.72%) were absent.
The breakdown of participants showed that 16,206 were male (67.32%), and 7,868 were female (32.68%).
Out of those who sat the exam, only 9,389 candidates (39%) managed to score 50 percent and above. Even more telling, just 316 students (1.31%) achieved 70 percent and above, while 14,685 (61%) failed to reach the 50 percent mark. Only eight candidates (0.03%) attained the highest possible rank.
Mohammed expressed concern over the poor performance, attributing it to multiple systemic challenges undermining technical education in Nigeria.
These include the shortage of qualified instructors in core vocational trades, insufficient technical training centres across local governments, and lack of modern equipment in many of the colleges.
He listed the trades examined to include 17 engineering trades, seven construction trades, eight miscellaneous trades, and four business-related trades.
The NABTEB boss called for urgent legislative and policy reforms, increased funding, and investment in infrastructure and teacher training to revamp the technical and vocational education system.
“The future of Nigeria’s industrial development depends on the strength of its technical education,” Mohammed said.
“We must equip our institutions with modern tools, well-trained personnel, and a policy framework that supports skill acquisition at the grassroots.”
The board has begun the selection and placement process for candidates into 32 federal and 171 state technical colleges nationwide.
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