Kano State has emerged as the best-performing state in the 2026 Senior School Certificate Examination conducted by the National Examinations Council, with 74,413 candidates recording at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics.
Lagos State followed with 72,496 candidates, while Oyo State came third with 55,543 candidates, according to figures released on the 2026 examination.
The development was disclosed in a statement issued by Sunusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, Director-General, Media and Publicity to the Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf.
The result marks the second consecutive year Kano has occupied the top position in the NECO performance ranking, following a similar feat by the state in the 2025 examination.
Reacting to the result, Governor Yusuf commended the students, teachers, parents and other stakeholders, attributing the performance to sustained investment in the education sector.
The governor said the back-to-back achievement demonstrated that government spending on education was beginning to produce measurable outcomes.
“This achievement is a reflection of the commitment, hard work and determination of our students, teachers, parents and all stakeholders in the education sector,” Yusuf said.
He assured residents that his administration would sustain its focus on education through increased funding, improved learning facilities, recruitment and training of teachers, scholarships and assistance for students from indigent families.
As part of its interventions, the state government reportedly spent more than N4.4bn in 2026 to sponsor candidates for the Senior School Certificate Examination, particularly students who could not afford the examination costs.
According to the governor, the intervention was intended to eliminate financial barriers and give more students the opportunity to sit for the examination under improved conditions.
Yusuf said the latest NECO performance was consistent with what he described as improvements recorded in the state’s education sector since the beginning of his administration.
Education has continued to receive one of the largest allocations in the Kano State budget, with the administration saying its spending exceeds the benchmark recommended by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.
In 2024, education reportedly received about 29.95 per cent of the state budget, while the allocation rose to N168.35bn, representing 31 per cent, in the 2025 budget.
For 2026, the state budgeted N405.35bn for education, representing about 30 per cent of the total N1.478tn budget.
Yusuf said the government’s education investment extended beyond examination sponsorship to include classroom rehabilitation, recruitment of teachers, provision of learning materials and uniforms, scholarships and other support programmes.
The governor also cited several awards received by his administration as recognition of its education policies, including education-related awards from Leadership Newspaper, New Telegraph, the Nigeria Union of Teachers and Blueprint Newspaper.
The administration also said it received international recognition in London and Paris in 2026 for its interventions in literacy, learning and education spending.
Other awards listed by the state government included the Vanguard Governor of the Year Award for Good Governance in 2024, the BusinessDay Governor of the Year Award in 2025 and the African Governor of the Year Award presented by African Leadership Magazine in Casablanca, Morocco.
The governor dedicated the latest NECO performance to Kano students, teachers, parents and residents, pledging that the government would continue to expand its investment in education.
Yusuf said the long-term objective was to develop an education system capable of equipping young people with the knowledge and skills required for higher education, employment, innovation and leadership.
He added that the state’s latest annual school census recorded more than five million schoolchildren, underscoring the scale of investment required to meet the educational needs of Kano’s growing population.
