The Kano State Government recently celebrated its first-place finish in the National Examinations Council (NECO) Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE). Governor Abba Yusuf announced that 74,413 candidates obtained at least five credits, including in English Language and Mathematics. This achievement was hailed as a success by the government. However, an analysis of the 2026 NECO performance figures paints a different picture. Kano's performance, although impressive in numbers, is not as remarkable when considering the state's large candidate pool.
Kano recorded the largest number of candidates who sat the examination, with 162,302 students taking the test. This is significantly higher than the 97,771 candidates in Lagos, which has the second-highest number. As a result, Kano also recorded the largest number of candidates who failed to meet the five-credit benchmark. The state's performance of 45.85 per cent remained below the national average of 60.13 per cent. This suggests that Kano's achievement may not be as impressive as initially thought.
When ranked by performance, Kano ranked 31st of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). This is a decline from 29th place recorded last year. The state's success rate also decreased compared to its 2025 performance in the same examination. In 2025, Kano had 68,159 candidates who obtained at least five credits, representing 49.84 per cent of the 136,762 candidates presented by the state.
The 2026 results revealed that Kano performed worse than it did last year. The number of candidates who sat for the examination in Kano increased by 25,540 from 136,762 in 2025 to 162,302 in 2026. Although the number of successful candidates increased from 68,159 to 74,413, the number of candidates who failed the examination also rose from 68,603 to 87,889.
The Kano State Government has been accused of misinterpreting the sheer number of candidates who passed as a success rate, ignoring the fact that it has more candidates who failed than those who passed. This is not a new problem, as the government celebrated a similar achievement last year. The issue lies in the state's large candidate pool, which skews the performance statistics.
Nationally, the performance in the 2026 NECO examination declined slightly compared to the 2025 performance. According to NECO's Registrar, Dantani Wushishi, 58.67 per cent of candidates who sat the examination obtained five credits and above, including English Language and Mathematics. This is a decrease from 60.26 per cent in 2025.
The decline in Kano's performance and the national average highlights the need for a more nuanced evaluation of the state's achievement. While Kano produced the largest number of candidates who met the five-credit benchmark, its performance is not as impressive as celebrated. The state's government must address the underlying issues to improve the overall quality of education.
Key points
- Kano's NECO performance is below the national average.
- The state's large candidate pool skews its performance statistics.
- National NECO performance declined slightly in 2026.
