29,633 Students Secure 5 Credits in 2024 NECO Exams in Katsina – Official Report

The Katsina State government has announced that 29,633 students have successfully passed the 2024 National Examination Council (NECO) examinations, obtaining five credits or more, including Mathematics and English.

The Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Hajiya Zainab Musa-Musawa, disclosed this during a press briefing in Katsina on Tuesday. She highlighted that the state’s performance placed it sixth nationally, surpassing the results of more than 30 states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

Musa-Musawa emphasized that this achievement is a significant improvement from the previous year, where 25,152 candidates met the same benchmark in 2023, marking a 17.8% increase. She added that the number of successful students is sufficient to fill the state’s quota in universities and tertiary institutions for the 2024/2025 academic session.

Responding to media reports that portrayed the state’s NECO results negatively, the commissioner clarified that such reports only focused on percentage performance, ignoring other positive indices. She noted that some states recorded fewer than 10,000 students who passed with five credits, including Mathematics and English, in comparison to Katsina’s achievement.

Furthermore, Musa-Musawa commended the Katsina State Government under the leadership of Governor Dikko Radda for its efforts in addressing challenges in the education sector. She pointed out that Governor Radda, a former teacher, initiated the largest teacher recruitment drive in the state, hiring 7,325 teachers within the first three months of his administration. This included 5,000 primary school teachers, significantly improving the teacher-to-student ratio.

In collaboration with BESDA-AF TESS, the state has also trained 17,470 teachers to enhance their skills and improve the quality of education in Katsina.