The National Examinations Council (NECO) has released the results of Nigeria’s 2025 Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE), revealing that more than 60 per cent of candidates secured credits in both English and Mathematics.
Registrar and Chief Executive, Professor Dantani Wushishi, presented the outcome at a press briefing in Minna. He credited the success of this year’s examinations to government backing, particularly from President Bola Tinubu, and commended the Ministers of Education and the National Assembly for reforms that had strengthened the credibility of the process.
Out of 1,367,210 registered candidates, 1,358,339 wrote the exams held between 16 June and 25 July. Of these, 818,492 students — 60.26 per cent — obtained at least five credits including English and Mathematics, while 1,144,496 candidates (84.26 per cent) achieved five credits regardless of those subjects.
NECO reported a marked drop in examination malpractice, with 3,878 cases recorded in 2025 compared with 10,094 in 2024. Despite this progress, 38 schools across 13 states were identified for mass cheating, and nine supervisors were recommended for blacklisting due to misconduct ranging from poor supervision to aiding malpractice.
Challenges were also reported in Adamawa State, where communal clashes disrupted exams in eight schools, affecting 13 subjects and 29 papers. Arrangements are under way to enable affected students to complete their examinations.
By performance, Kano led with the highest number of candidates scoring five credits including English and Mathematics, followed by Lagos and Oyo. In contrast, NECO reported that candidates at its Gabon centre failed to meet the benchmark.
Professor Wushishi confirmed that from this year forward, only 38 subjects will be examined, in line with Nigeria’s revised school curriculum.
