The Registrar and Chief Executive, National Examination Council, Prof. Dantani Wushishi, has said that state governments are owing the exam body N5.5 billion.
He, however, declined to name the states in the N5.5 billion debt, saying that some of them have made commitments with NECO to pay their indebtedness.
Wushishi made this known on Tuesday, during the release of the 2023 Senior School Certificate Examination results which he announced that 61 per cent of the candidates scored five credits including English and Mathematics.
According to the registrar, the debt was incurred between 2012 and 2023 as a result of the states taking responsibility for the registration of their indigent indigines due for the examination.
He called on the states to expedite action in settling the debt, warning that the council will not release the results of the affected candidates of debtor states until such a time that the debts are liquidated.
“It is the money we use for the running of the council. They should please pay up. We will not release the results of candidates from these states,” he said.
Wushishi noted that the poor performance of some states is a call on the states to “look inwards to review their education sector and look also at all sectors of the education.”
He said Abia State and the Federal Capital Territory topped the 36 states on the performance chart followed by Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, and Adamawa States.
1,296,985 candidates sat for the 2023 SSCE examination. The male candidates were 616,398 while female candidates were 580,587, NECO reported.