NECO: Anambra Leads South East, Abia Leads Nationwide

Anambra State has topped the South East in the 2024 National Examinations Council (NECO) Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE).

An NECO regional performance ranking, shared by the Anambra Government on Monday, showed a state-by-state analysis of candidates’ performance.

The state, which led in the number of candidates who obtained five credits and above, including Mathematics and English, said it has zero tolerance for exam malpractice.

“As We Pursue Excellence, We Maintain an Almost Zero Tolerance for Exam Malpractice and Have Completely Eliminated so-called Magic Centres,” the government said via a post on Monday on its official Facebook page, ‘Anambra First’.

According to the document, Anambra recorded 20,053 candidates, which is 18.69 per cent of those who sat for the exam with five credits, including English and Maths.

The record surpassed Imo State with 17.92 per cent, Enugu with 17.13 per cent, Ebonyi with 10.05 per cent and Abia with 8.44 per cent.

In total, the South East registered 108,104 candidates, out of which 77,491 passed with five credits and above, putting the region’s success rate at 72.23 per cent.

Nationally, Abia State led all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) with 95.84 per cent of candidates scoring five credits and above in any subject combination.

It was followed by Imo – 94.50 per cent, Ogun – 94.35 per cent and Osun – 93.46 per cent.

However, Anambra ranked 14th nationwide, with 89.86 per cent of its 29,053 candidates achieving this benchmark.

Other strong performers included Cross River – 92.67 per cent, Kogi – 92.25 per cent and Lagos – 91.74 per cent.

Also, the states with the lowest percentages were Kano – 71.35 per cent, Sokoto – 70.95 per cent and Katsina – 68.74 per cent.

Kano had the highest number of candidates, with 147,264 students, but only 71.35 per cent achieved five credits and above.

Kebbi, on the other hand, had one of the smallest registration figures (5,433) with 89.24 per cent of its candidates meeting the benchmark.

According to the Anambra State government, it has maintained “an almost zero tolerance for exam malpractice and has eliminated so-called magic centres”.

NECO: Anambra Leads South East, Abia Leads Nationwide is first published on The Whistler Newspaper