Kani State has emerged top in the 2026 National Examination Council, NECO senior secondary school examination, SSCE
The state had 74,413 candidates meet the benchmark, followed by Lagos with 72,496 and Oyo with 55,543.
It recorded the highest number of candidates who earned at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics, in the 2026 National Examinations Council (NECO) examinations, according to figures reported by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
The result gives Kano the top position for the second consecutive year, after it also recorded the highest number of candidates with five credits, including English and Mathematics, in 2025.
Governor Abba Yusuf, in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Sanusi Bature, congratulated students, teachers, parents and other education stakeholders on the result.
“Kano has maintained the first position in NECO twice in a row making the state as the leading SSCE performer for the two consecutive years, (2025 and 2026) respectively,” Yusuf said.
He said the back-to-back ranking showed that the state’s investment in education was producing results. The governor pledged to continue prioritising the sector through increased funding, improved facilities, teacher recruitment and training, scholarships and support for students from low-income families.
Yusuf said the state government spent more than ₦4.4 billion in 2026 to sponsor candidates for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination, particularly students unable to afford the fees. He said the support was intended to remove financial barriers and enable more students to sit for the examinations.
The governor also pointed to education’s share of the state budget. “Education has consistently received the largest share of Kano State’s budget under Governor Yusuf; overshooting the UNESCO benchmark,” he said.
He said education accounted for about 29.95 per cent of Kano’s budget in 2024, rising to ₦168.35 billion, or 31 per cent, in 2025. For 2026, he said, the state allocated ₦405.35 billion to education, about 30 per cent of the total budget.
Yusuf said the government’s education spending included examination sponsorship as well as classroom renovations, teacher recruitment, learning materials, school uniforms, scholarships and other support intended to improve learning.
He also cited awards recognising the administration’s education policies, including honours from Leadership Newspaper, New Telegraph, the Nigeria Union of Teachers and Blueprint Newspaper. The governor said the administration had also received international education-related awards in London and Paris in 2026.
He said the government’s goal was to equip young people with skills for further education, employment, innovation and leadership. Kano recorded more than five million schoolchildren in its most recent annual school census, he added.
