NECO Releases 2025 SSCE Results, Probes Mass Cheating in Multiple States

The National Examinations Council (NECO) has launched investigations into mass cheating involving 38 schools across 13 states during the conduct of the 2025 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE Internal).

Registrar of the Council, Prof. Ibrahim Wushishi, made this disclosure on Wednesday in Minna, Niger State, while announcing the release of the 2025 SSCE results.

According to him, the affected schools will be summoned to the Council for discussions before appropriate sanctions are imposed. The cases form part of a wider 3,878 instances of examination malpractice recorded this year — a significant drop compared to 10,094 cases in 2024.

NECO to Sanction Schools and Supervisors Found Guilty

Prof. Wushishi confirmed that nine supervisors across Rivers, Niger, the FCT, Kano, and Osun States were also recommended for blacklisting over infractions ranging from poor supervision to aiding malpractice, lateness, unruly behavior, assault, and insubordination.

He further highlighted a special case in Lamorde Local Government Area of Adamawa State, where a communal clash disrupted examinations in eight schools between July 7 and 25, affecting 13 subjects and 29 papers.

“The Council is determined to safeguard the integrity of its examinations. We will not hesitate to sanction any school or official found culpable in malpractice or negligence,” he warned.

NECO has begun discussions with the Adamawa State Government to conduct make-up examinations for the affected schools.

Key Highlights of the 2025 SSCE Results

Despite the malpractice concerns, the 2025 SSCE results reflected strong performance outcomes:

• Total candidates registered: 1,367,210 (685,514 males and 681,696 females).

• Total candidates who sat for the exams: 1,358,339.

• Five credits including Mathematics & English: 818,492 candidates (60.26%).

• Five credits irrespective of core subjects: 1,144,496 candidates (84.26%).

• Special needs candidates: 1,622 (941 with hearing impairment, 191 with visual impairment, others with physical and learning disabilities).

State Performance Rankings

• Kano State topped the chart with 68,159 candidates (5.02%) scoring five credits including English and Mathematics.

• Lagos State followed with 67,007 (4.93%).

• Oyo State came third with 48,742 candidates.

• At the bottom, Gabon (foreign centre) recorded no candidate with five credits including English and Mathematics.

NECO Reforms: Shorter Exams, Stronger Integrity

Looking ahead, Prof. Wushishi revealed that the SSCE will now cover only 38 subjects, in line with the revised national curriculum. This change is expected to shorten the examination period and reduce result processing time.

He also stressed that NECO would continue to strengthen its monitoring framework to uphold credibility:

“The reduction in malpractice cases this year shows our commitment to integrity. We will not relent in tightening supervision and transparency to safeguard the credibility of our examinations.”