The National Examinations Council (NECO) has identified 38 schools across 13 states involved in mass cheating during the 2025 Internal Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE).
Registrar and Chief Executive, Prof. Dantani Wushishi, disclosed this in Minna on Tuesday while announcing the release of the 2025 results. He said the affected schools have been summoned for discussions, after which sanctions will be applied.
In addition, nine supervisors were recommended for blacklisting over offenses including poor supervision, aiding malpractice, lateness, insubordination, and assault. Those affected include three in Rivers, three in the Federal Capital Territory, and one each in Niger, Kano, and Osun states.
Despite these cases, Wushishi described the 2025 SSCE as one of the most successful in recent years, noting that results were released just 54 days after the last paper. Out of 1,358,339 candidates who sat for the exam, 60.26% (818,492 candidates) earned five credits and above, including English and Mathematics, while 84.26% (1,144,496 candidates) achieved five credits irrespective of those subjects.
A total of 1,622 candidates with special needs participated, including 941 with hearing impairments and 191 with visual impairments.
Cases of malpractice dropped significantly, with 3,878 incidents recorded compared to 10,094 in 2024—a decline of 61.58%.
By state performance, Kano led with 68,159 candidates obtaining five credits including English and Mathematics, followed by Lagos (67,007) and Oyo (48,742).
Wushishi also confirmed that NECO is working with the Adamawa State government to reschedule examinations for schools in Lamorde Local Government Area, where communal clashes disrupted the process.
