The National Examination Council (NECO) has announced that it will investigate 40 secondary schools across 17 states for alleged mass cheating during the 2024 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE).
NECO’s Registrar, Professor Dantani Wushishi, revealed this during a press conference in Minna, Niger State, while announcing the release of this year’s SSCE results.
According to Wushishi, the schools involved will be called for discussions with NECO, after which appropriate sanctions will be applied.
He explained, “During the conduct of the 2024 Senior School Certificate Examinations, 40 schools were found to have been involved in whole-school mass cheating in 17 states. They will be invited to the council for discussion, after which appropriate sanctions will be applied.”
Wushishi also disclosed that one school in Ekiti State has been recommended for de-registration due to mass cheating in two core subjects and one science subject.
In addition, 21 exam supervisors across 12 states have been blacklisted for misconduct.
Wushishi noted, “The supervisors were blacklisted for poor supervision, aiding and abetting, abscondment, extortion, drunkenness, and negligence.”
Despite the cheating cases, NECO reported a decrease in malpractice. A total of 8,437 candidates were involved in malpractice this year, a significant reduction from the 12,030 cases recorded in 2023. This marks a 30.1% decline in cheating cases.
On a positive note, Wushishi shared that over 60% of candidates who sat for the 2024 SSCE passed with credits in both English Language and Mathematics.
He gave a breakdown of the results, stating, “Out of 1,367,736 candidates who sat for the exam, 828,824, representing 60.55%, earned five credits or more, including English Language and Mathematics.”
Furthermore, 83.90% of candidates received five credits and above, regardless of English and Mathematics, reflecting strong performance overall.