The National Examinations Council (NECO) has announced the release of the 2025 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) External results, with 71.63 per cent of candidates achieving five credits and above, including English Language and Mathematics.

The Registrar and Chief Executive of NECO, Prof. Dantani Ibrahim-Wushishi, made the disclosure on Tuesday during a news conference at the council’s headquarters in Minna.

He explained that the examination was conducted between November 26 and December 13, 2025, while the marking exercise took place from January 5 to January 21, 2026. According to him, the results were released 52 days after the final paper was written.

A total of 96,979 candidates registered for the examination, with 95,160 eventually sitting for it. Of those who sat, more than half were male candidates, while the rest were female.

Ibrahim-Wushishi revealed that 78.32 per cent of candidates who sat for English Language obtained credit and above, while Mathematics recorded an even higher success rate, with 91.35 per cent scoring credit and above.

Overall, 68,166 candidates achieved five credits and above including English Language and Mathematics, while 82,082 candidates recorded five credits and above regardless of those two core subjects.

He noted that the SSCE External examination serves as a second chance for candidates seeking admission into universities and other tertiary institutions within and outside Nigeria. The examination covered 16 subjects, which he described as another step in NECO’s commitment to credible assessment.

On examination malpractice, the registrar disclosed that 9,016 candidates were booked for various offences during the exercise, representing a 31.7 per cent increase compared to the 2024 figure. He added that five supervisors have been recommended for blacklisting for their alleged roles in aiding malpractice.