NECO Topping: Kano Upscaling Educational Development To International Standard
From Muhammad Kabir, Kano
There is no gainsaying that Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State, Education State of Emergency, put by the Governor sometimes last year is highly paying with the State ranking the Federation in the SSSCE NECO Examination, twice in a row.
It in records that when the Government comes on board precisely May 2023, there was some gaps in the education pursued of the State, although the previous administrations also did their possible best.
Looking at the condition Education was with no available Class Rooms, No Teachers and Teaching Materials, in fact no qualified personnel handling Education in Kano, Governor Yusuf took the bold by the horns and confronted the sector head long.
By 2024, the State comes up with an idea of a State of Emergency on Education after deep investigation and consultation with some high profile educationists.
However, by 2025, results in the slamming of a state of emergency on Education by Governor Yusuf begins to comes out, with Kano becoming first in the SSSCE NECO Examination that year.
No doubt, the appointment of Dr. Ali Haruna Makoda as the Commissioner for Education, has greatly helped in achieving the dreams of changing the narrative in the education sector of Kano State.
Just like Governor Yusuf resilience, dedicative and tenacious stance on education, Makoda never goes to sleep following inch by inch his Boss approach to Education, making him to achieve in a row twice as the best and first state in NECO Examination.
It emerged as the leading state among the 36 su nationals of the federation in the 2026 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) conducted by the National Examinations Council (NECO).
This made them to maintained the first position in NECO twice in a row making the state as the leading SSCE performer for the two consecutive years, (2025 and 2026) respectively.
The state recorded 74,413 candidates who obtained at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics, placing Kano ahead of other states, Lagos as second with 72,496 candidates and Oyo came third with 55,543 candidates.
The performance marks the second consecutive year that Kano has topped the NECO national performance chart, after recording the highest number of candidates with five credits, including English and Mathematics in the 2025 examination.
Reacting to the development, Kano State Governor, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, commended the students, teachers, parents and other stakeholders for the outstanding performance.
Governor Yusuf said the back-to-back performance was an indication that the state’s sustained investment in education was producing measurable results.
He assured the people of Kano that his administration would continue to prioritise education through increased funding, improved learning facilities, teacher recruitment and training, scholarships and support for indigent students.
As part of the interventions, the state government spent over N4.4 billion in 2026 to sponsor candidates for Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination, particularly indigent students.
The Governor, said the intervention was designed to remove financial barriers and enable students to participate in the examinations under better conditions.
He said the latest NECO result was a continuation of the improvement recorded by Kano students under the present administration.
Education has consistently received the largest share of Kano State’s budget under Governor Yusuf over shooting the UNESCO benchmark.
In 2024, education accounted for about 29.95 per cent of the state budget. The allocation increased to N168.35 billion, representing 31 per cent, in the 2025 budget.
For 2026, the state allocated N405.35 billion to education, representing about 30 per cent of the N1,478, 829, 666, 130. 71 trillion budget.
The Governor said the investment goes beyond examination sponsorship to include classroom renovation, teacher recruitment, learning materials, uniforms, scholarships and other interventions aimed at improving the quality of education.
The administration’s education policies have also attracted recognition at national and international levels, with Kano fast becoming a leading education reform hub in sub-Saharan Africa.
In 2024, Governor Yusuf received the Leadership Newspaper Governor of the Year Award for Education, while New Telegraph recognised him for educational development Governor of the year. The Nigeria Union of Teachers also named him its Teachers’ Friendly Governor of the Year for 2024.
In 2025, Blueprint Newspaper recognised Governor Yusuf as Governor of the Year for Education at the paper’s national conference in Abuja. While This Nigeria newspaper awarded him as courageous Governor of the year 2024.
His administration also received education-related recognition at International space in London and Paris 2026, for its commitment to education with international literacy and learning award and the education spending award by the Universal Learning Solution and City University, Paris respectively.
Other national recognitions include the Vanguard Governor of the Year Award for Good Governance in 2024, the BusinessDay Governor of the Year Award in 2025, and African Governor of the year award by the African Leadership Magazine in Casablanca-Morocco.
Governor Yusuf dedicated the latest NECO achievement to the students, teachers, parents and people of Kano State, assuring them that the government would sustain its investment in education.
He said the objective was to build an education system capable of providing Kano’s young people with the knowledge and skills required for higher education, employment, innovation and leadership as Kano has recorded over Five Million School children in the last annual school census.
Also reacting the Former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Governor of Kano State, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has congratulated the government and people of Kano on the state’s strong performance in the 2026 National Examinations Council (NECO) Senior School Certificate Examination, saying the achievement demonstrates the value of sustained investment and policy continuity in education.
Kano recorded the highest number of candidates meeting the benchmark of at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics, with 74,413 candidates, ahead of Lagos with 72,496 and Oyo with 55,543. The feat marks Kano’s second consecutive year at the top of the NECO performance chart on this measure.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday by his Chief of Staff, Comrade Muhammad Garba, Ganduje described the development as encouraging and a positive signal for the future of education in Kano and the wider northern region.
He said the latest result showed that “progress builds on a solid foundation,” noting that sustained investment, continuity of policy and commitment by successive administrations could produce measurable improvements in the education sector.
Ganduje acknowledged the efforts of the present administration in Kano, under Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, particularly increased budgetary allocations to education, sponsorship of students for NECO and other examinations, recruitment of teachers and renovation of schools.
He, however, stressed that the latest achievement should be viewed within the broader context of successive investments and reforms in the state’s education sector.
According to him, his administration contributed to that foundation through the implementation of free and compulsory basic education, the establishment of Education Promotion Committees from the state to ward levels, strengthening of the State Education Trust Fund, infrastructure development and teacher training across the 44 local government areas.
“Kano’s performance is not accidental. It is the outcome of continuity in policy and deliberate investment, with the present administration building on what was already on ground. This is how development should work,” Ganduje said.
He congratulated the students, teachers, parents, school administrators and other stakeholders whose efforts contributed to the result, urging them to sustain the momentum and ensure that Kano remains competitive in national educational assessments.
Ganduje also called for education to be insulated from partisan politics, saying achievements in the sector should be regarded as a collective success belonging to the people of Kano rather than any particular political administration.
He urged successive governments to continue strengthening policies and programmes that improve access to quality education, teacher capacity and learning infrastructure.
Many people in Kano and great beyond have salutes the feet Kano achieved twice in a row, showing that the managers of Education in Kano are truly doing their assignments with all sincereties.
