The National Examinations Council (NECO) has released the results of the 2025 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) External, recording an overall pass rate of 71.63 per cent.
The announcement was made by NECO’s Registrar and Chief Executive, Prof. Dantani Ibrahim-Wushishi, during a press briefing at the Council’s headquarters in Minna. EducationNGR also learnt that the results were released 52 days after the conclusion of the final written paper.
Examination Timeline
According to the registrar, the 2025 SSCE External examination was conducted between 26 November 2025 and 13 December 2025. Marking of scripts took place from 5 January 2026 to 21 January 2026.
Candidate Registration And Participation
NECO recorded a total of 96,979 registrations for the examination, comprising 51,823 male candidates and 45,156 female candidates.
Out of those who registered, 95,160 candidates eventually sat for the examination, including 50,785 males and 44,375 females.
Performance In English Language And Mathematics
A total of 93,425 candidates sat for the English Language paper, out of which 73,167 obtained credit and above.
For Mathematics, 93,330 candidates took the paper, with 85,256 candidates earning credit and above.
Five-Credit Performance Breakdown
NECO reported two key outcomes from the results:
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68,166 candidates obtained five credits and above, including English Language and Mathematics
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82,082 candidates obtained five credits and above, irrespective of English Language and Mathematics
Purpose Of The SSCE External Examination
Prof. Ibrahim-Wushishi explained that the SSCE External examination provides candidates with an additional opportunity to secure admission into universities and other tertiary institutions within and outside Nigeria. He noted that the examination covered 16 subjects and described the result release as part of NECO’s commitment to credible and reliable assessments.
Malpractice Cases And Sanctions
NECO disclosed that 9,016 candidates were booked for various forms of examination malpractice during the exercise, representing an increase from the 6,160 cases recorded in 2024.
As part of disciplinary measures:
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Five supervisors were recommended for blacklisting for aiding and abetting malpractice, drawn from the Federal Capital Territory, Kano, Adamawa, and Ondo states
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Four examination centres were recommended for derecognition due to whole-centre malpractice, located in Niger, Yobe, and Kano states
How To Check The 2025 NECO SSCE External Result
NECO advised candidates to check their results online using their examination registration details. Candidates are required to select the 2025 examination year, choose SSCE External (Nov/Dec), and enter the required details to access their results through the official NECO result-checking platform. @ https://results.neco.gov.ng/