A’Ibom NECO slump raises fresh education concerns
The reported decline in Akwa Ibom State’s performance in the 2026 National Examinations Council Senior School Certificate Examination should prompt an urgent review of the state’s education system, the Allied Peoples Movement Initiative for Democracy, Ethics and Accountability has said.
According to a September 29, 2026 report by Premium Times, only 37.42 per cent of candidates in Akwa Ibom obtained at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics, placing the state 36th among the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Etim Ekpimah
The reported decline in Akwa Ibom State’s performance in the 2026 National Examinations Council Senior School Certificate Examination should prompt an urgent review of the state’s education system, the Allied Peoples Movement Initiative for Democracy, Ethics and Accountability has said.
According to a September 29, 2026 report by Premium Times, only 37.42 per cent of candidates in Akwa Ibom obtained at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics, placing the state 36th among the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The figure represents a sharp decline from the 67.08 per cent recorded in 2025, when Akwa Ibom ranked 12th nationally.
Reacting to the development, APM-IDEAS said the result should compel the state government to look beyond the construction and beautification of school buildings and focus more closely on what happens inside classrooms.
“Beautifully painted school buildings cannot translate into academic excellence if the right teachers are not employed, properly trained, adequately motivated and deployed according to their areas of competence,” the organisation said.
“Education is ultimately about learning, and learning depends substantially on the quality of teaching.”
APM-IDEAS said the Akwa Ibom Strategic Education Roadmap 2020-2030 had already identified inadequate and poorly trained teachers, high student-teacher ratios, inappropriate teacher deployment, inadequate teaching aids and poor teacher motivation as major challenges requiring intervention.
The organisation called for an independent audit of the 2026 NECO results to establish the factors behind the decline and inform a comprehensive education recovery programme.
It urged the government to recruit qualified subject teachers based on identified needs, provide continuous professional development, improve teachers’ welfare and supervision, and supply textbooks, laboratories, libraries and digital learning facilities.
The group also called for regular diagnostic assessments and remedial programmes for struggling students, as well as measurable annual learning targets for public schools.
On accountability, APM-IDEAS urged the government to publish details of spending on school infrastructure, teacher recruitment and training, and instructional materials alongside measurable learning outcomes.
It further called for a review of the implementation of the 2020-2030 education roadmap, with teachers, education experts, parents, students and civil society organisations involved in developing an emergency education recovery plan.
The organisation said the success of the education sector should not be measured mainly by the number of school buildings constructed or renovated, but by what students are able to learn and achieve.
“Akwa Ibom children deserve more than beautiful school buildings. They deserve competent teachers, quality instruction, functional learning facilities and an education that gives them a genuine opportunity to succeed,” APM-IDEAS said.
Tom Godwin FredFish, PhD, Chairman, APM-IDEAS, signed the statement on September 30, 2026.
