71.63% pass as NECO releases 2025 SSCE external results

The National Examinations Council (NECO) has released the 2025 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) External results, recording a 71.63 per cent pass rate.

The NECO Registrar and Chief Executive, Prof. Dantani Ibrahim-Wushishi, announced this at a press conference at the council’s headquarters in Minna, the capital of Niger State, on Tuesday, February 3, 2026.

Ibrahim-Wushishi said the examination was conducted from November 26 to December 13, 2025, while the marking exercise took place between January 5 and January 21, 2026.

Ibrahim-Wushishi stated that the results were released 52 days after the last written paper.

The NECO boss disclosed that 96,979 candidates registered for the examination, comprising 51,823 males (53.43 per cent) and 45,156 females (46.56 per cent).

He said 95,160 candidates sat for the examination, including 50,785 males (53.36 per cent) and 44,375 females (46.63 per cent).

The NECO registrar revealed that 93,425 candidates sat for English Language, out of which 73,167 candidates, representing 78.32 per cent, obtained credit and above.

He added that 93,330 candidates sat for Mathematics, with 85,256 candidates, representing 91.35 per cent, scoring credit and above.

Ibrahim-Wushishi said 68,166 candidates, representing 71.63 per cent, obtained five credits and above, including English Language and Mathematics.

He added that 82,082 candidates, representing 86.26 per cent, obtained five credits and above, irrespective of English Language and Mathematics.

The NECO boss explained that the SSCE external provided a second opportunity for candidates seeking admission into universities and other tertiary institutions within and outside Nigeria.

He said the examination covered 16 subjects and described the release of the results as another milestone in NECO’s mandate to deliver credible assessments.

Ibrahim-Wushishi disclosed that 9,016 candidates were booked for various forms of examination malpractice during the exercise.

He said the figure was higher than the 6,160 candidates booked in 2024, representing an increase of 31.7 per cent.

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The registrar added that five supervisors were recommended for blacklisting for aiding and abetting malpractice.

According to him, two of the supervisors are from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with one each from Kano, Adamawa, and Ondo States.

Ibrahim-Wushishi added that four examination centres were recommended for de-recognition over whole-centre malpractice.

He said two of the centres were from Niger State, while one each was from Yobe and Kano States.

Ibrahim-Wushishi, therefore, urged candidates to check their results on NECO’s website, www.neco.gov.ng using their examination registration numbers.

He also announced the release of the 2026 Automated Staff Posting Calendar (APC).

Ibrahim-Wushishi said staff postings would now be randomised, adding that staff could access their posting status online.

The staff were directed to check their APC details at https://apcic.neco.gov.ng/myapc using their date of birth and file number without the prefix “P”.

The Star