The National Examinations Council (NECO) has released the 2025 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) External results, recording a 71.63 per cent pass rate.
The Registrar and Chief Executive of NECO, Prof. Dantani Ibrahim-Wushishi, announced this on Wednesday at a news conference held at the council’s headquarters in Minna, Niger State.
According to him, the examination was conducted between November 26 and December 13, 2025, while the marking exercise took place from January 5 to January 21, 2026.
He noted that the results were released 52 days after the last written paper.Prof. Ibrahim-Wushishi disclosed that 96,979 candidates registered for the examination, comprising 51,823 males (53.43 per cent) and 45,156 females (46.56 per cent).
Out of this number, 95,160 candidates eventually sat for the examination, including 50,785 males (53.36 per cent) and 44,375 females (46.63 per cent).
He stated that 93,425 candidates sat for English Language, with 73,167 candidates (78.32 per cent) obtaining credit and above.
In Mathematics, 93,330 candidates sat for the subject, out of which 85,256 candidates (91.35 per cent) scored credit and above.
The registrar revealed that 68,166 candidates, representing 71.63 per cent, obtained five credits and above including English Language and Mathematics, while 82,082 candidates (86.26 per cent) obtained five credits and above irrespective of English Language and Mathematics.
He explained that the SSCE External examination provides a second opportunity for candidates seeking admission into universities and other tertiary institutions within and outside Nigeria, adding that the examination covered 16 subjects.
On examination malpractice, Prof. Ibrahim-Wushishi disclosed that 9,016 candidates were booked for various offences during the exercise, compared to 6,160 candidates in 2024, representing an increase of 31.7 per cent.
He added that five supervisors were recommended for blacklisting for aiding and abetting malpractice—two from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and one each from Kano, Adamawa, and Ondo states.
The registrar also announced that four examination centres were recommended for derecognition over whole-centre malpractice, with two centres from Niger State and one each from Yobe and Kano states.
He advised candidates to check their results on NECO’s official website using their examination registration numbers and also announced the release of the 2026 Automated Staff Posting Calendar (APC).