The National Examinations Council (NECO) has announced that 60.55% of candidates who sat for the 2024 Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE) passed English, Mathematics, and three other subjects.
A total of 828,284 candidates out of 1,367,736 achieved this milestone, according to NECO Registrar and Chief Executive, Prof. Dantani Wushishi.
Wushishi disclosed the results while addressing reporters in Minna, Niger State, during the release of this year’s SSCE internal results. He emphasized that the council successfully completed the marking process and released the results within 55 days of the last exam.
“The 2024 SSCE was conducted from June 19 to July 26, 2024, and marking took place between August 19 and September 8, 2024. All processes leading to the release of the results have been concluded,” Wushishi explained.
Breakdown of Results
Prof. Wushishi provided a detailed breakdown of the candidates’ performance. Out of the total candidates who sat for the exam, 1,147,597 candidates, representing 83.9%, obtained five credits or more, irrespective of English and Mathematics. However, 828,284 candidates earned five credits, including the two key subjects, making up 60.55% of the total candidates.
“1,367,736 candidates sat for the examination, including 702,112 males and 665,624 females,” Wushishi said.
He added that 706,950 males and 669,473 females initially registered for the exam, but a small number did not sit for the test.
Mass Cheating and Exam Malpractice
The NECO registrar also revealed incidents of examination malpractice, noting that 40 schools in 17 states were found to have engaged in mass cheating.
“These schools will face a panel, and appropriate sanctions will be applied,” Wushishi stated.
He further mentioned that 21 supervisors across 12 states were blacklisted for their roles in aiding exam malpractices, including poor supervision, abscondment, extortion, and even drunkenness. Additionally, one school in Ekiti State was de-recognized for mass cheating in two core subjects and one science subject.
Despite these incidents, Wushishi noted a significant reduction in malpractice rates.
“There was a 30.1% reduction in the rate of malpractice this year, with 8,437 candidates involved in various forms of exam misconduct,” he said.
Special Needs Candidates and International Participation
In addition to regular candidates, the 2024 SSCE saw the participation of 2,267 candidates with special needs. Wushishi shared that 1,103 candidates had hearing impairments, 348 had visual impairments, 342 were persons with albinism, 237 had autism, and 236 had low vision.
Furthermore, 269 candidates from outside Nigeria participated in the exam, coming from countries such as Benin Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Niger Republic, Togo, Cote D’Ivoire, and Saudi Arabia.
Regional Performance and NECO’s Future Plans
In terms of regional performance, the Southwest led the pack with 15.487% of candidates earning five credits or more, including English and Mathematics. The South, however, recorded the lowest performance with 5.666%.
Prof. Wushishi hinted at possible changes in the future, including increasing the allowances for examiners and adjusting the registration fees for NECO exams to meet the growing needs of the council.
“We are considering increasing the allowances of our examiners and possibly reviewing the registration fees for our examinations to improve service delivery,” he said.