Beyond the Doubting Thomas Kano Still Remains First in June/July 2025 NECO SSCE Exams
Abdussalam Muhammad Kani, Ph.D, FCFA
Executive Director, FIDAC
+2347033270725, www.fidacnigeria.com
When education is prioritized, adequately funded, and well-managed, success becomes inevitable. The evidence is so clear that even the greatest skeptics must accept the fact that Kano remains first in the June/July 2025 NECO SSCE exams, not only because of the numbers, but because the state’s educational resurgence is a model worthy of emulation across Nigeria.
Remarkably, Kano alone accounted for 10% of the total June/July 2025 NECO candidates nationwide, a clear indication that the narrative of the North neglecting education is outdated. Kano is proving through numbers and policies that education is now a central priority.
Kano’s success as the State with the highest number of students with five credits and above in the recently released June/July NECO 2025 SSCE results is a reflection of deliberate policies, strategic investments, and consistent prioritization of education.
The declaration of State of Emergency was not mere rhetoric; it was followed by practical, strategic, and impactful interventions. From employment of new teachers to bridge manpower gaps to renovation and rehabilitation of dilapidated schools, reopening of closed girls’ boarding schools, distribution of free school uniforms, continuous training and re-training of teachers to improve quality, prompt payment of salaries to education workers, consistent release of UBEC counterpart funds to access federal interventions, from allocation of an unprecedented 31% of the 2025 state budget to education to policy implementation, the Abba Kabir Yusuf administration has laid a solid foundation for transforming the education sector. These silent but significant commitments of Kano State government aimed at resuscitating the lost glory of education created the right environment for Kano’s students to perform excellently in national examinations. Thus, Kano’s emergence as the state with highest number of students with five credits and above in the recently released June/July NECO 2025 SSCE results is not by accident—it is the result of planning, vision, and investment.
Nationally, 1,358,339 candidates sat for the 2025 June/July NECO exam. Out of this number, Kano State presented 136,762 candidates. Of these 68,159 (49.84%) passed with five credits and above and 68,603 (50.16%) did not. In contrast, Abia State, which some media reports claim came first, had only 11,260 candidates, out of which 9,381 (83.3%) passed. Here lies the question: Is it fair to say that Abia is ahead of Kano when Kano alone produced 68,159 passes while Abia had only 9,381? Even if every single successful student from both states secures university admission, Kano will still have far more students admitted than Abia.
By this measure, Kano leads in quantity and substance.
Kano State still remains first when measured by absolute contribution to Nigeria’s pool of successful students. Nationally, 10.07% of the candidates who sat for June/July 2025 NECO were from Kano, and about 0.83% from Abia. By share of national total passes or national context Kano alone contributed 8.36% of all passes in Nigeria, while Abia contributed1.15%.
This shows that although Abia has a much higher pass percentage (83.3%), Kano’s absolute contribution to Nigeria’s pool of successful students is far larger. Therefore, Kano has highest number of successful students nationwide, despite a lower pass rate whereas Abia has the higher pass percentage, but far fewer students overall. For clarity, contemplate on the below table.
Category Kano State Abia State National Total
Total Candidates 136,762 (10.07%) 11,260 (0.83%) 1,358,339 (100%)
Total Passes (5 credits & above) 68,159 (8.36%) 9,381 (1.15%) ~815,003 (60%)
Total Failures 68,603 1,879 ~543,336
Pass Rate (%) 49.84% 83.30% 60% (average)
While it is true that Abia and some South-East states posted higher percentage pass rates, Kano’s strength lies in producing the highest absolute number of successful students nationwide. This is no small feat, as it shows the massive human capital base Kano is building and the seriousness with which its people and government now treat education.
The entire 19 Northern States much celebrate this achievement as an inspiration for them to emulate Kano’s model of fiscal responsibility and education-centered governance.
This milestone further underscores that when education is prioritized, adequately funded, and well-managed the outcome as posited by the executive governor of Kano State, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusif during declaration of education state of emergency is every school, a good school; every child, enrolled in school; every student, an engaged learner; every teacher, a caring educator; every parent, a supportive partner; and government, a committed investor in Human Capital Development.