Kano State has emerged with the highest number of candidates obtaining at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics, in the 2026 Senior School Certificate Examination conducted by the National Examinations Council.
A total of 74,413 candidates from Kano met the five-credit benchmark in the examination, placing the state ahead of Lagos and Oyo based on the number of candidates who achieved the required combination.
Lagos State followed with 72,496 candidates who secured five credits including English and Mathematics, while Oyo State recorded 55,543 candidates meeting the same benchmark.
The result means Kano has recorded the highest number of candidates meeting the five-credit requirement in the NECO SSCE for the second consecutive year.
The 2026 examination involved 1,371,992 candidates who eventually sat for the exercise out of 1,378,048 registered candidates across Nigeria and selected foreign countries.
At the national level, 804,948 candidates, representing 58.67 per cent of those who sat for the examination, obtained at least five credits including English Language and Mathematics.
A larger number, 1,162,118 candidates representing 84.70 per cent, obtained five credits and above when performance in English Language and Mathematics was not used as a requirement.
The 2026 NECO SSCE was conducted from June 15 to July 23, while the nationwide marking exercise took place between August 17 and September 4.
The examination covered candidates across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, as well as candidates in Benin Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Niger Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo and Saudi Arabia.
NECO Registrar and Chief Executive, Professor Dantani Wushishi, also disclosed that examination malpractice recorded a significant decline during the 2026 exercise.
According to the council, 1,406 candidates were involved in various forms of examination malpractice, compared with 3,878 candidates recorded in 2025, representing a 64.74 per cent decrease.
The NECO management attributed the decline to improved examination processes, stronger monitoring and collaboration with security agencies and other stakeholders involved in protecting the integrity of the examinations.
Reacting to Kano’s performance, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf congratulated the students, teachers, parents and other stakeholders who contributed to the results.
The governor attributed the state’s performance to investments in education, including improvements in learning facilities, teacher recruitment and training, scholarships and other forms of student support.
The Kano State Government also said it spent more than N4.4 billion in 2026 to support candidates sitting for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination, with particular attention given to students from low-income households.
The intervention was designed to reduce financial barriers that could prevent eligible students from registering for or sitting the examinations.
The state has also increased its budgetary allocation to education in recent years, with education receiving N168.35 billion in the 2025 budget and N405.35 billion in the 2026 budget, according to figures cited by Nairametrics.
Despite the strong performance recorded among Kano’s senior secondary school candidates, wider education challenges remain in the state, particularly at the foundational level.
UNICEF previously reported that only 9.6 per cent of primary school pupils in Kano demonstrated reading proficiency, while 11.2 per cent demonstrated basic numeracy skills, highlighting differences between examination performance at the secondary level and foundational learning outcomes.
The 2026 NECO results therefore provide a fresh snapshot of senior secondary examination performance across the country, with Kano recording the highest number of candidates who met the five-credit benchmark including English and Mathematics.
Candidates can access their individual NECO results through the council’s official results portal using their examination details and result token.