2026 NECO: Kano ranks 31st in five-credit performance despite largest candidate turnout

Kano State recorded Nigeria’s largest candidate cohort in the 2026 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE), but ranked 31st among the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The analysis is based on the number of candidates who obtained at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics, in the 2026 National Examinations Council (NECO) results released recently.

Of the 162,302 candidates who sat for the examination in Kano, 74,413, representing 45.85 percent, obtained at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics, according to NECO’s state-level results. The figure was 12.82 percentage points below the national rate of 58.67 percent.

Lagos State, which recorded the second-largest number of participants with 97,771 candidates, had a 74.15 percent performance rate, with 72,496 candidates meeting the five-credit benchmark.

Although Kano had 64,531 more candidates than Lagos, only 1,917 more candidates met the benchmark.

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Nationwide, 1,371,992 candidates sat the 2026 NECO SSCE Internal examination, while 804,948, representing 58.67 percent, obtained at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics.

The national performance rate fell from 60.26 percent in 2025 to 58.67 percent in 2026, representing a decline of 1.59 percentage points.

Abia recorded the highest proportion of candidates meeting the benchmark, with 9,666 of its 11,820 candidates, representing 81.78 percent.

Ebonyi followed with 81.03 per cent, while Ekiti recorded 77.68 percent.

Lagos recorded 74.15 percent, Oyo 74.12 percent, Imo 74.10 percent, Bayelsa 73.92 per cent, and Ogun 73.34 percent.

Sokoto recorded the lowest proportion at 26.82 percent, followed by Akwa Ibom with 37.42 percent, Adamawa 37.76 percent, Borno 40.34 percent, and Katsina 41.54 percent. Yobe recorded 44.57 percent, while the Federal Capital Territory posted 46.18 percent.

The gap between Abia, which recorded the highest rate, and Sokoto, which had the lowest, was 54.96 percentage points, while 19 states recorded rates above the national average.

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Despite its low percentage performance, Kano recorded the highest absolute number of candidates who met the benchmark, with 74,413.

Lagos followed with 72,496 successful candidates, while Oyo recorded 55,543.

It was observed that the figures show the difference between the number and proportion of candidates meeting the benchmark. States with larger examination cohorts can record more successful candidates despite lower success rates.

Recently, the Kano State Government said it was investing heavily in education, including approving N4.4bn in the 2026 budget to support examination fees for more than 150,000 public-school students sitting NECO, NABTEB and NBAIS examinations.

The government has also cited teacher recruitment and training, infrastructure, scholarships, and support for disadvantaged students among its education interventions.