The National Examinations Council (NECO) has officially released the results of the 2026 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) Internal, recording a 58.67% pass rate among candidates who secured five credits and above, including English Language and Mathematics.
Announcing the release on Thursday at the Council’s headquarters in Minna, Niger State, NECO Registrar and Chief Executive, Prof. Dantani Wushishi, disclosed that 804,948 out of 1,371,992 candidates who sat the examination met the core benchmark.
The results were declared 63 days after the conclusion of the examinations on July 23, 2026.
According to Wushishi, a total of 1,378,048 candidates registered for the examination nationwide, comprising 682,352 males and 695,696 females with 1,371,992 eventually taking the assessment.
A broader performance metric revealed that 1,162,118 candidates, representing 84.70%, obtained five credits and above, irrespective of their performance in English Language and Mathematics.
In the core metric of five credits including English Language and Mathematics, Kano State led nationwide with 74,413 successful candidates, followed by Lagos State with 72,496, and Oyo State with 55,543.
Conversely, NECO examination centers located in Saudi Arabia and Niger Republic recorded no candidates achieving five credits including English and Mathematics.
When ranked by total candidates securing five credits regardless of English and Mathematics, the Southwest zone accounted for the highest share at 24.60%, followed by:
Northwest: 22.10%
North-Central: 19.00% (Led by Benue at 3.82% and Nasarawa at 3.66%)
Northeast: 14.70%
South-South: 10.53% (Led by Rivers at 3.03% and Edo at 2.17%)
Southeast: 9.07% (Led by Anambra at 2.92% and Enugu at 2.14%)
Wushishi highlighted a significant drop in examination infractions, reporting a 64.74% decline in malpractice cases compared to the previous year.
A total of 1,406 candidates were caught in examination misconduct in 2026, down from 3,878 in 2025.
He attributed the reduction to improved security monitoring, streamlined administrative processes, and strategic collaboration with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Department of State Services (DSS).
The Registrar also noted that 1,334 candidates with special needs participated in the 2026 exercise, reaffirming NECO's commitment to inclusive assessment frameworks.
The examination was administered between June 15 and July 23, 2026, across all 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory, and six overseas centers (Benin Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Niger Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, and Saudi Arabia).
Nationwide marking took place from August 17 to September 4, 2026.
"We remain committed to our mandate and will continue to uphold the credibility, fairness, and integrity of our examinations," Wushishi stated while thanking the Federal Ministry of Education, state governments, security agencies, and Council staff for their support.
Candidates who sat the 2026 SSCE Internal can access their results immediately on the official NECO web portal using their examination registration numbers.
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