The National Examinations Council, NECO, has released the results of the 2026 Senior School Certificate Examination, recording a significant decline in examination malpractice.

The NECO Registrar, Prof. Dantani Wushishi, announced the results on Thursday during a press briefing.

Wushishi said 1,378,048 candidates registered for the examination, while 1,371,992 candidates eventually sat for it.

According to him, 804,948 candidates, representing 58.67 per cent, obtained at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics.

He added that 1,126,118 candidates, representing 84.70 per cent, obtained five credits and above irrespective of their performance in English Language and Mathematics.

On examination malpractice, the registrar said 1,496 candidates were involved in 2026, compared with 3,878 candidates recorded in 2025.

“Number of candidates involved in examination malpractice in 2026 was 1,496 as against 3,878 in 2025. There was a decrease of 64.74 per cent,” Wushishi said.

During the question-and-answer session, the registrar attributed the decline partly to the adoption of computer-based examinations, which he said had helped reduce malpractice.

Wushishi also dismissed claims linking NECO to so-called miracle centres, saying the examination council does not operate such centres.

“We don’t know miracle centres because we have only one school and we cannot be associated with miracle centres,” he said.

He explained that NECO only registers examination centres that meet its requirements.

“If there are miracle centres, it is the state governments that established these miracle centres, or they are privately owned, but NECO does not believe in miracle centres,” he added.