(DDM) – Abia State has emerged as the best-performing state in the 2025 National Examinations Council (NECO) Internal Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE), recording an outstanding 83.31 percent.
Diaspora Digital Media (DDM) gathered that Abia’s performance once again reinforces its reputation as a consistent leader in educational excellence, a trend it has maintained for several years.
The results, released by NECO via its official X handle, also confirmed that other South-East states, Imo, Ebonyi, and Anambra, all secured top spots in the national rankings.
This development highlights the region’s dominance in academic achievement, cementing the South-East as Nigeria’s strongest bloc in secondary school performance.
However, the glaring absence of Enugu State from the top 10 list has triggered widespread concerns among education stakeholders.
For decades, Enugu was regarded as a hub of intellectual culture and a cradle of learning, home to iconic institutions such as the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
But in recent years, declining investments in public education, poor infrastructure, unpaid teacher salaries, and weak policy implementation have fueled a steady erosion of academic standards.
The 2025 NECO results, observers say, are a public confirmation of Enugu’s gradual slide, with fears that if urgent interventions are not made, the state may fall further behind.
Education analysts warn that while Abia, Imo, Ebonyi, and Anambra are reaping the fruits of consistent reforms and investments in schools, Enugu risks creating a generation of students unable to compete with their peers regionally and nationally.
Civil society groups have already begun calling for a state of emergency in the education sector, stressing that Enugu’s decline, if not urgently addressed, could erode its historical reputation as an intellectual powerhouse of the East.
Parents and teachers within the state have also expressed frustration over crumbling facilities, underfunded schools, and neglect of rural education.
“Enugu used to be an academic giant,” one teacher lamented, “but today, our classrooms are overcrowded, teachers are demoralized, and students have little support.”
Experts are urging Governor Peter Mbah’s administration to immediately prioritize teacher welfare, modern learning infrastructure, curriculum updates, and targeted student support programs to reverse the decline.
They argue that education remains the backbone of development and that Enugu cannot afford to watch while its neighbors soar high on the wings of academic excellence.
The NECO results have not only celebrated Abia’s achievement but have also thrown a spotlight on the urgent reforms needed in Enugu.
For many residents, this should be a wake-up call that the future of the state’s children, and its place in Nigeria’s intellectual map, is at stake.