Kano has emerged as the best-performing state in the 2025 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE Internal) conducted by the National Examinations Council (NECO), a feat the state government attributes to ongoing reforms in the education sector.
However, Kano topped the performance chart with 68,159 candidates (5.02 per cent of the national total) obtaining five credits and above including Mathematics and English. Lagos followed with 67,007 candidates (4.93 per cent), while Oyo came third with 48,742 candidates.
Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, reacting through his spokesperson, Sunusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, described the feat as a validation of his administration’s sustained investment in education.
According to him, the state had consistently prioritised funding, infrastructure, and access to learning since his assumption of office.
He also disclosed that; “In both the 2024 and 2025 budgets, education received the largest allocation. This allowed us to rehabilitate schools, provide free uniforms and learning materials, recruit and train teachers, and expand opportunities for our young people”.
The governor added that the administration’s focus on girl-child education, scholarships, and reducing the number of out-of-school children contributed to the state’s new status.
“Our reforms are clearly yielding results, and this outstanding performance by our students proves that Kano is on the right path. Education remains our top priority, and we will continue working tirelessly to ensure no child in Kano is left behind,” Yusuf said.
Observers note that Yusuf’s approach has attracted national recognition, with Leadership Newspaper, Blueprint Newspaper, and the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) naming him “Education Governor of the Year.”
They added that Kano’s unprecedented success in the 2025 NECO results is a “testament to visionary leadership and sustained investment in human capital.”
It be recalled that Yusuf declared a state of emergency in the education sector in 2024 and subsequently allocated 31 per cent of the 2025 budget to education as part of the state’s recovery plan.
TRIBUNE ONLINE reports NECO Registrar, Prof. Ibrahim Wushishi, who announced the results in Minna, Niger, disclosed that 818,492 of the 1,358,339 candidates who sat for the June/July examination, representing 60.26 per cent, obtained five credits and above including English Language and Mathematics.
Professor Wushishi therefore stated that 1,144,496 candidates, representing 84.26 per cent, secured five credits and was irrespective of the two core subjects.
