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The National Examinations Council (NECO) on Thursday released the results of the 2026 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) Internal, with 804,948 candidates, representing 58.67 per cent of those who sat the examination, obtaining five credits and above, including English Language and Mathematics.
NECO Registrar and Chief Executive, Prof. Dantani Ibrahim Wushishi, announced the results at a press briefing held at the Council’s headquarters in Minna, Niger State.
A total of 1,378,048 candidates registered for the examination, comprising 682,352 males and 695,696 females. Of this number, 1,371,992 candidates eventually sat for the papers, made up of 678,903 males and 693,089 females.
Wushishi disclosed that 1,162,118 candidates, representing 84.70 per cent, obtained five credits and above irrespective of their performance in English Language and Mathematics.
On examination malpractice, the Registrar reported a significant decline. A total of 1,406 candidates were involved in various forms of malpractice in 2026, compared with 3,878 candidates in 2025. This represents a reduction of approximately 64.74 per cent (figures cited across reports range from about 63.8 to 64.74 per cent).
He attributed the drop to the Council’s sustained efforts to strengthen examination processes, security and quality assurance in order to protect the integrity of NECO certificates.
The 2026 SSCE Internal was conducted from 15 June to 23 July 2026 across the 36 states of the federation, the Federal Capital Territory, and six foreign countries: Benin Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Niger Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo and Saudi Arabia.
The results were released 63 days after the conclusion of the examination, following the completion of marking, verification and quality assurance processes. Marking was concluded on 4 September 2026.
Wushishi noted that 1,334 candidates with special needs participated in the examination. These included candidates with hearing impairment (640), visual impairment (149), albinism (84), autism (94), low vision (136) and adermatoglyphia (231).
In the ranking of states by the number of candidates who obtained five credits and above including English Language and Mathematics, Kano State led with 74,413 candidates (9.24 per cent), followed by Lagos State with 72,496 candidates (9.01 per cent). Kebbi State recorded the lowest figure with 3,049 candidates (0.38 per cent).
Candidates can access their results on the NECO official website using their examination registration numbers.
The Registrar reaffirmed the Council’s commitment to ensuring that certificates reflect candidates’ true academic performance free from impersonation, manipulation or other forms of malpractice.
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