The Kano State Bureau of Statistics has dismissed a recent publication by Premium Times which suggested that Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf was wrong in stating that Kano produced the highest number of students with five credits and above in the 2025 NECO Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE).
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In a statement signed by the Statistician-General, Dr. Aliyu Isa Aliyu, the Bureau said the report was misleading and failed to reflect the complete set of official data released by NECO.
According to the Bureau, its review of the NECO results shows that Kano ranked first in five out of six major performance indicators, while Abia State topped only one.
Figures released indicated that Kano registered 137,338 candidates, of which 136,762 sat for the exams. Out of these, 103,579 students obtained five credits and above, irrespective of Mathematics and English, making Kano the state with the largest pool of successful candidates in the country. Lagos followed with 85,071 and Oyo with 70,609.
The Bureau also highlighted Kano’s strength in female education, where the state recorded the highest number of girls attaining five credits both with and without Mathematics and English. Specifically, 39,851 girls achieved the benchmark including English and Mathematics, ahead of Lagos (38,804) and Oyo (26,371).
On male performance, Kano again led in the number of students securing five credits irrespective of Mathematics and English, with 43,808 boys achieving the feat. Though Lagos narrowly ranked first when English and Mathematics were included, recording 30,203 passes against Kano’s 28,308, the Bureau stressed that Kano’s achievement was notable given its significantly larger enrollment.
Dr. Aliyu emphasized that the governor’s statement was backed by verifiable statistics and that attempts to downplay the state’s performance by focusing on a single indicator were unfair.
“The data clearly positions Kano as the national leader in the 2025 NECO SSCE, not only in overall performance but also in advancing girl-child education,” the Bureau stated.
