Abia Ranks First, Katsina Last in 2024 NECO SSCE Results

The National Examination Council (NECO) has released the results of the 2024 Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE) for internal candidates, with Abia State emerging as the top-performing state. According to the report, 83.40% of Abia candidates scored five credits, including Mathematics and English, while Katsina State ranked last with only 2.42%.

NECO's Registrar and Chief Executive Officer, Prof. Dantana Wushishi, disclosed this at a press briefing held at the NECO Headquarters in Minna, Niger State. He noted that out of the 1,376,423 candidates who registered for the exam, 1,367,736 sat for it, and 828,284 candidates, representing 60.55%, scored five credits, including Mathematics and English.

Prof. Wushishi also revealed that 1,147,597 candidates, representing 83.90%, passed with five credits irrespective of Mathematics and English. A total of 702,112 male and 665,624 female candidates participated in the examination.

In a breakdown of special needs candidates, 2,267 students were identified, including 1,104 with hearing impairments, 348 with visual impairments, and others with albinism, autism, and low vision.

While acknowledging an overall improvement in student performance, Prof. Wushishi emphasized the reduction in examination malpractice, with 8,437 candidates involved in 2024 compared to 12,030 in 2023, a decrease of 30.1%.

However, he noted that 40 schools in 17 states were implicated in mass cheating, with one school in Ekiti State recommended for de-recognition due to widespread malpractice in core subjects. Additionally, 21 supervisors were recommended for blacklisting over misconduct, including poor supervision, aiding and abetting malpractice, abscondment, and extortion.

Highlighting the state performance rankings, Abia led with 83.40% of candidates passing with five credits, including Mathematics and English. Katsina State, on the other hand, recorded the lowest performance with only 2.42%. Abia also led in overall pass rates, with 95.84% of its candidates achieving five credits, irrespective of subjects.

Katsina's poor performance places it just ahead of Kano State, which ranked second to last with 44.42%.

Prof. Wushishi praised states like Abia for their consistent performance and urged underperforming states to improve their educational systems.