NECO Probes Mass Exam Cheating in 13 States

The National Examinations Council (NECO) has initiated investigations into widespread cheating involving 38 schools across 13 states during the 2025 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE internal).

The council’s Registrar, Prof. Ibrahim Wushishi, announced this in Minna, Niger State, on Wednesday while releasing the results for 2025.

He mentioned that the schools implicated will be called to the council for discussions before suitable penalties are enforced.

As per his statement, the cases of mass cheating are part of a total of 3,878 malpractice incidents recorded in this year’s examination.

He noted, however, that the number of malpractice cases has declined this year compared to last year’s count of 10,094 cases in 2024.

He stated, “During the 2025 Senior School Certificate Examination, 38 schools were found to be involved in systemic cheating across 13 states. They will be summoned to the Council for discussions, after which suitable penalties will be imposed.

“Additionally, nine supervisors—three from the registrar, three from Rivers, one from Niger, three from the FCT, one from Kano, and one from Osun State—have been recommended for blacklisting due to poor supervision, collusion, tardiness, unruly conduct, assault, and insubordination.”

He specifically highlighted a case in Lamorde Local Government, Adamawa State, involving eight schools that were affected by a communal conflict, which disrupted our examinations from July 7 to July 25, 2025. Thirteen subjects and 29 papers were impacted.

“We have already started discussions with the State Government to arrange the examinations for the affected schools.”

“The Council is committed to maintaining the integrity of its examinations. We will take action against any school or official found guilty of malpractice or negligence,” he cautioned.

Despite the issues related to malpractice, Wushishi presented a largely positive outcome. Out of the 1,367,210 candidates who registered for the examination—consisting of 685,514 males and 681,696 females—a total of 1,358,339 candidates ultimately sat for the exams, which included 680,292 males and 678,047 females.

Among that group, 818,492 candidates, or 60.26 percent, achieved five credits or more, including mathematics and English. Additionally, a larger number of 1,144,496 candidates, representing 84.26 percent, attained five credits or more regardless of the two core subjects.

He also shared that the number of candidates with special needs was 1,622, which included 941 with hearing impairments (586 males and 355 females) and 191 with visual impairments (111 males and 80 females).

In the performance breakdown by state, Kano State led with 68,159 candidates (5.02 percent) achieving five credits or more, including English and mathematics. Lagos was a close second with 67,007 (4.93 percent), and Oyo was third with 48,742.

Conversely, Gabon, one of the foreign centers, reported no candidates achieving five credits or more, including mathematics and English.

Looking to the future, the NECO head disclosed that the council will now conduct the SSCE on only 38 subjects, consistent with the revised national curriculum.

He explained that this change would streamline the examination process and minimize the waiting time for results to be released.

Responding to questions from journalists, Wushishi emphasized that the council remains dedicated to rigorous supervision and transparency to avoid the difficulties faced by other examination bodies that have encountered crises of integrity.

“The decline in malpractice incidents this year reflects the seriousness with which we approached the administration of the examination. We will continue to enhance our monitoring and oversight mechanisms,” he affirmed.