KSSMB · SENIOR SECONDARY

Kano State Senior Secondary Schools Management Board

300 public senior secondary schools, 512,000 students in SS 1 to SS 3, and the placement, staffing, boarding and external examinations that go with them.

What the Board is responsible for

Management of the State's senior secondary schools: principal and teacher posting, SS 1 placement from the Qualifying Examination, subject-combination approval, WASSCE and NECO centre coordination, boarding administration and the annual senior-secondary school census.

KSSMB was created in 2013 to separate senior secondary education from basic education. The two are managed differently for good reason: senior secondary schools run subject streams rather than a single curriculum, they board a substantial number of their students, they present candidates to two external examination councils, and their staffing is by subject specialism rather than by class.

The Board's year turns on two fixed points. In July it places JSS 3 leavers into SS 1 on the results of the Qualifying Examination and the Basic Education Certificate Examination. From April to July it coordinates the external examination season, when WASSCE and NECO are written in 268 accredited centres across the State.

KSSMB at a glance

300

Senior secondary schools

Day and boarding, single-sex and mixed

512,000

Students in SS 1 to SS 3

2025/2026 session

14,800

Teachers

Posted by subject specialism

2013

Established

When senior secondary was separated out

How KSSMB is organised

Three tiers. A transfer within a zone is settled by the zonal office; a transfer between zones comes to the Board.

Board Headquarters, Audu Bako Secretariat

Sets school establishments, posts principals and teachers, approves subject combinations and boarding charges, and reports to the Ministry. The Executive Secretary and the Director of Schools Services sit here.

6 Zonal Education Offices

Kano Central, Kano North, Kano South, Gaya, Rano and Wudil. The zones inspect schools, accredit examination centres and handle transfers between schools within the zone.

Schools

Around 300 schools, each headed by a principal accountable for results, for boarding welfare and for the conduct of external examinations on the premises.

The four streams

A student chooses a stream at the start of SS 1, on the strength of the Qualifying Examination and the school's advice. Changing stream is possible in the first term of SS 1 and rarely after that.

Stream	Core subjects	Typical additions	Where it leads
Science	English Language, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology	Further Mathematics, Geography, Agricultural Science	Medicine and health sciences, engineering, the pure sciences, agriculture
Arts and Humanities	English Language, Mathematics, Literature in English, Government, Islamic or Christian Religious Studies	Hausa Language, Geography, Economics, Arabic Studies	Law, the humanities, teaching, public administration
Commercial	English Language, Mathematics, Economics, Commerce, Business Studies	Government, Geography, Computer Studies	Accountancy, banking, business administration, insurance
Technical	English Language, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Technical Drawing	Basic Electricity, Building Construction, Computer Studies	Engineering, the technical colleges, the built environment trades

What KSSMB actually delivers

Six recurring functions, each with a named officer at the Board and a route through the zonal office.

SS 1 placement

Every July

Places JSS 3 leavers into senior secondary, science secondary and technical seats on the Qualifying Examination and BECE results, publishing the placement list school by school.

Principal and teacher posting

Termly

Posts principals, vice-principals and subject teachers against each school's approved establishment, and handles transfers between schools and zones.

Subject combination approval

Start of SS 1

Approves the combinations a school may offer against its laboratories, workshops and specialist staffing, so that no student is entered for a subject the school cannot teach.

External examination coordination

April to July

Coordinates WASSCE and NECO across 268 accredited centres: entries, centre accreditation, supervision and the release of results.

Boarding administration

Continuous

Sets the boarding charge, inspects hostels, feeding and sanitation, and investigates any welfare complaint made about a boarding house.

Census and establishment

Annually

Takes the senior secondary census, fixes each school's establishment from it, and reports enrolment, staffing and results performance to the Ministry.

Who leads KSSMB

The executive head answers to the Honourable Commissioner for Education through the Permanent Secretary. Formal correspondence should name the school and the local government area concerned.

Alhaji Musa Abdullahi Rano

Executive Secretary, Kano State Senior Secondary Schools Management Board

M.Ed (Educational Administration)

Was principal of two of the largest senior secondary schools in the State before taking charge of the Board. He signs the annual SS 1 placement list and the approval of every subject combination a school offers.

kssmb@moe.kn.gov.ng

Malam Yakubu Danlami Wudil

Director, Schools Services

B.Sc (Ed) Mathematics

Runs schools services: postings, transfers, boarding inspection and the external examination timetable. He is the officer to approach when a transfer between zones has stalled.

Questions students and parents ask KSSMB

How is my child placed into SS 1?

On the Qualifying Examination sat in the first week of July, taken together with the Basic Education Certificate Examination result. The Board publishes a placement list school by school in the weeks that follow, and the school of placement is where the student reports at resumption. Science secondary schools and technical colleges select first, from the highest scores.

Can my child change stream after starting SS 1?

Within the first term of SS 1, yes, on the principal's recommendation and provided the school actually offers the combination sought. After the first term it is refused except on medical grounds, because the syllabus in the new stream cannot be caught up before SS 3.

What does a boarding place cost?

Tuition is free in a public senior secondary school. A boarder pays the approved boarding and feeding charge each term, and a day student does not. The current approved ceilings for every charge a senior secondary school may make are published on this site; nothing outside that schedule may lawfully be collected.

How do we transfer to another school?

Apply through the principal of the current school, stating the reason and the school sought. A transfer within a zone is approved by the zonal education office and normally takes ten working days; a transfer between zones or into Kano from another state comes to the Board and takes longer. A student transferring in from outside the State sits the Placement Test to fix the correct class.

Who pays for WASSCE and NECO?

The State pays the entry fee in full for every candidate in a public senior secondary school, for both series. Private candidates and candidates in private schools pay the councils' published fees. Entries are made by the school; no student should be asked to pay an entry fee at a public school.

My child's result has been withheld. What now?

A withheld result is a matter for the examination council that issued it, raised through the school and the Board. Bring the examination number, the centre number and the year to the Board or to the Ministry's Examinations Directorate. Where the cause is an administrative error rather than malpractice, the result is normally released within one examination cycle.

Where to find KSSMB

Placement, transfer and examination enquiries need the student's examination number and the school name.

Headquarters: Block C, Audu Bako Secretariat, Kano
Telephone: +234 806 441 2214
Email: kssmb@moe.kn.gov.ng
Counter hours: Monday to Friday, 8:00 to 16:00
Placement and transfers: through the school principal, then the zonal education office
Examination centres and entries: the Ministry's Examinations Directorate, exams@moe.kn.gov.ng

Nothing outside the approved schedule may be charged

Tuition in a public senior secondary school is free. The parent-teacher association levy, the laboratory charge, the sports and library charge and the boarding charge are capped by the Ministry, and no other charge is lawful.

If a school demands a payment that is not on the published schedule, report it with the school name, the amount and the term to which it relates.

Placement, results and certificates

Check a result, find an examination centre or read the entry requirements for the Qualifying Examination.

Check a result Qualifying Examination