NIGERIA: NECO Releases 2025 SSCE Results, Records 60% Pass Rate

By Onoja Baba, Nigeria 

The National Examinations Council (NECO) has released the results of the 2025 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE Internal), 54 days after the conclusion of the last written paper.

Announcing the results at a press conference in Minna, Niger State, on Wednesday, NECO Registrar, Prof. Ibrahim Wushishi said a total of 1,358,339 candidates sat for the June/July examination.

Of this number, 818,492 candidates, representing 60.26 per cent, obtained five credits and above, including English Language and Mathematics.

Wushishi further disclosed that 1,144,496 candidates, representing 84.26 per cent, secured five credits and above irrespective of English and Mathematics.

Out of the 1,367,210 candidates who registered for the examination, 685,514 were males and 681,696 were females, while the number of those with special needs stood at 1,622, including 586 males and 355 females with hearing impairment, and 111 males and 80 females with visual impairment.

On examination malpractice, Wushishi reported a decline in cases compared to the previous year.

He revealed that 3,878 candidates were caught in various forms of malpractice in 2025, representing a 61.58 per cent reduction from the 10,094 cases recorded in 2024.

He, however, disclosed that 38 schools across 13 states were found guilty of mass cheating and would face sanctions, while nine supervisors in Rivers, Niger, FCT, Kano, and Osun States were recommended for blacklisting over aiding malpractice, poor supervision, and misconduct.

The registrar also drew attention to a communal clash in Lamorde Local Government Area of Adamawa State, which disrupted examinations in eight schools between July 7 and July 25, affecting 13 subjects and 29 papers.

He said discussions are ongoing with the state government to reconduct the examinations for the affected schools.

Providing a breakdown of performance by states, Wushishi said Kano recorded the highest number of candidates with five credits and above, including English and Mathematics, with 68,159 candidates (5.02 per cent).

Lagos followed with 67,007 candidates (4.93 per cent), while Oyo placed third with 48,742 candidates. The least performing centre was Gabon, which recorded no candidate with five credits and above, including English and Mathematics.

He further announced that, in line with the reviewed curriculum currently being implemented, NECO will henceforth conduct the SSCE in only 38 subjects, a move expected to shorten the waiting time for results.

The council also noted the ongoing transition from the traditional Paper-Pencil Test (PPT) model to a Computer-Based Test (CBT) model, with some schools already participating in the first phase of the shift.