The Federal Government has announced plans to review tuition fees charged to students in Federal Technical Colleges while also ordering a nationwide verification of students enrolled in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Alausa, said the move is aimed at ensuring that students attending Federal Technical Colleges are not burdened by tuition or other institutional charges that could prevent them from accessing quality technical education.
Speaking during the T-31 student selection exercise for admission into Federal Technical Colleges, Alausa said strengthening technical education is essential to equipping young Nigerians with practical skills needed for employment, entrepreneurship, and national development.
He urged all stakeholders involved in the admission process to uphold fairness, transparency, accountability, and excellence while selecting candidates, stressing that the exercise should produce skilled technicians and craftsmen capable of supporting Nigeria’s industrial and economic growth.
Also speaking, the Registrar of the National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB), Dr. Mohammed Aminu, said the selection exercise is designed to ensure that candidates who participated in the 2026 National Common Entrance Examination (NCEE) are admitted into technical colleges in line with the Federal Ministry of Education’s guidelines.
According to NABTEB, 10,426 candidates, representing 75.29 percent of those who sat for the examination, scored at least 50 percent, while 5,708 candidates, or 41.22 percent, achieved scores of 70 percent and above.
Aminu explained that admissions would be determined based on merit, equity, transparency, accountability, available vacancies, trade preferences, and the Federal Character Principle.
He added that 15,290 candidates registered for the examination, with 13,848 eventually participating. The examination was conducted across 34 Federal Technical Colleges and 168 State Technical Colleges in all 36 states of the federation.
