Kano State has clinched the top spot in the 2025 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE Internal) conducted by the National Examinations Council, NECO, with officials linking the feat to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s reforms in the education sector.

NECO’s Registrar, Prof. Ibrahim Wushishi, while announcing the results on Tuesday in Minna, Niger State, disclosed that 1,358,339 candidates sat for the June/July examination. Out of the figure, 818,492 candidates, representing 60.26 per cent, obtained five credits and above, including Mathematics and English Language.

He added that 1,144,496 candidates, representing 84.26 per cent, secured five credits and above with or without the two subjects.

According to him, Kano topped the chart with 68,159 candidates (5.020 per cent of the national total) scoring five credits and above, including English and Mathematics. Lagos came second with 67,007 (4.930 per cent), while Oyo placed third with 48,742.

Reacting to the development, Governor Yusuf described the performance as proof that his administration’s “state of emergency” declared on the sector in 2024 was beginning to pay off.

In a statement on Wednesday by his spokesperson, Sunusi Tofa, the governor said his government had consistently placed education at the centre of its policies, reflected in the 2024 and 2025 budgets where the sector received the single largest allocation.

The administration had, among other interventions, distributed free uniforms and learning materials to pupils, rehabilitated dilapidated classrooms, recruited and trained teachers, provided furniture, funded tertiary institutions, awarded scholarships, and rolled out targeted programmes for girl-child education.

“Number of candidates that sat is 1,358,33,9 representing 680,292 Males and 678,047 females.

“Number of candidates with five Credits and above, including Mathematics and English is 818,492 representing 60.26%.

“Number of candidates with five Credits and above, irrespective of Mathematics and English is 1,144,496 representing 84.26%.”

Recall that the 2025 Senior School Certificate Examination was conducted from Monday June 16, to Friday July 25, 2025.

Wushishi stated that the number of candidates with special needs was 1,622, out of which candidates with hearing impairment were 586 males and 355 females, and candidates with visual impairment were 111 Males and 80 Females.

On the number of examination malpractice cases, the registrar noted that in the 2025 SSCE internal, the number of candidates involved in various forms of “malpractice was 3,878, as against 10,094 in 2024, which shows a reduction of 61.58 per cent.”