The Kebbi State Government has strongly denied reports suggesting that the state ranked lowest in the 2025 National Examinations Council (NECO) performance rating.
In a press statement released over the weekend, Dr. Halima M. Bande, Commissioner for Basic Education, described the circulating reports as misleading and inaccurate.
According to Dr. Bande, Kebbi State public schools completely withdrew from NECO examinations in 2022, shifting their focus to the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) instead.
“For the past four years, public schools in Kebbi State have not participated in NECO examinations. Therefore, any attempt to rank Kebbi State in the 2025 NECO rating is baseless and lacks credibility,” she emphasized.
While a handful of private schools in Kebbi continue to register students for NECO, the commissioner explained that their limited participation does not reflect the overall performance of the state’s education sector.
She further stressed that the methodology behind ranking Kebbi last was faulty and unrepresentative, since the majority of schools in the state no longer take part in NECO.
“The criteria used in ranking Kebbi State last are inaccurate. Since our public schools were not part of NECO, no genuine comparison can be made,” Dr. Bande added.
The clarification puts to rest speculations surrounding Kebbi’s academic performance and highlights the state’s strategic choice to adopt WAEC as its preferred examination body for public schools.
