Enrollment for TVET rises to 287.76%, says NABTEB Registrar

The Registrar of the National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB), Dr. Mohammed Aminu Mohammed, said the enrollment for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TEVT) has increased by 287.76%.
He said while enrollment for examination into technical colleges was 7,546 last year, the figure fot 2025 was 29,260.
He said the Minister of Education, Dr. Morufu Olatunji Alausa is driving the new TVET initiative in the educational system in a revolutionary manner.
He also said NABTEB has released the results of the 2025 National Common Entrance Examination (NCEE) with 9,389 candidates scoring over 50 per cent and above out of the 24,074 who participated.
Mohammed made the disclosures in Benin during the release of the results, selection and placement of students into Federal Technical Colleges.
The examination, which was conducted nationwide on June 14, 2025, across 32 Federal Technical Colleges and 171 State Technical Colleges, had a total of 29,260 registered candidates.
He said the examination indicated that total enrollment reached 29,260, out of which 24,074 candidates participated in the entrance examination.

He said: “This cohort comprised 16,206 males, representing 67.32 per cent, and 7,868 females, accounting for 32.68 per cent. Meanwhile, 5,186 individuals were absent, constituting 17.72 per cent.
“In comparison, the enrollment figure for the 2024 common entrance examination stood at 7,546 comprising 5,197 males (68.87 per cent) and 2,349 females (31.13 per cent).
“The disparity in enrollment between the years 2024 and 2025 amounts to 21,714 reflecting a remarkable increase of 287.76%. This substantial rise in enrollment is attributed to the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TEVT) initiative spearheaded by the Minister of Education within the education sector.
“Further analyses of candidates indicate that they have enrolled in 17 Engineering Trades, 7 Construction Trades, 8 Miscellaneous Trades, and 4 Business Trades. The statistics also revealed that 32 FTCs and 171 State Technical Colleges have registered candidates across various trades”.
“I wish to acknowledge the invaluable contributions of the Honourable Minister of Education, Dr. Morufu Olatunji Alausa, and the Honourable Minister of State for Education, Dr. Suaiba Said Ahmad, for the New TVET initiative in the educational system, which is thoroughly designed to empower young Nigerians with vital practical skills necessary for gainful employment and entrepreneurial endeavors.
” This initiative aligns seamlessly with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Renewed Hope Agenda, a comprehensive blueprint initiated to elevate Nigeria from a consumer to a productive, self reliant nation with a robust economy posting an enhanced GDP.”
Mohammed gave analysis of the results.
He said: “The results of candidates in Federal and State Technical colleges revealed that out of the 24,074 candidates who participated in the examination, 9,389, representing 39.00 per cent, achieved scores of 50 per cent and above.
“316 candidates accounting for 1.31 per cent attained scores of 70 per cent and above, while 14,685 candidates constituting 61.00 per cent scored below 50 per cent. Additionally, the results indicated that 8 candidates representing 0.03 per cent achieved the highest rank”.
The NABTEB boss emphasised the importance of identifying and admitting students who are best-suited to benefit from the training offerings in Federal Technical Colleges.
He also highlighted the challenges that may be responsible for low enrollment in the NCEE.
The challenges according to him include; inadequacy of qualified and experienced teachers where these trades exist, parent/Peer group influence, inadequate number of vocational and skills centres across the 774 Local Government Areas in the country, inadequate equipment to run some trades in the colleges and
apathy on the part of candidates toward certain trades.
On the way forward, he said: “To achieve Nigeria’s aspiration of becoming one of the world’s top 20 industrialised nations in terms of technological advancement, collective efforts are required to complement Mr. President’s Renewed Hope Agenda of tackling the pressing issue of low TVET enrollment”.