EXAMINATIONS · BECE
Basic Education Certificate Examination
The examination that closes basic education. Every pupil in JSS 3 in Kano State sits ten papers in the second week of june, and the certificate that follows is the first formal qualification a Nigerian child holds.
What the BECE is
The Basic Education Certificate Examination is the terminal examination of the nine-year basic education cycle — one year of pre-primary, six of primary and three of junior secondary. It is set and marked by the Kano State Ministry of Education to the national Basic Education Curriculum, and it is written at the end of JSS 3 by candidates in public junior secondary schools, in approved private schools and in integrated Islamiyyah schools presenting the full curriculum.
The examination answers one question: has this pupil learned what the nine years were meant to teach? It is not a competition for places. Placement into SS 1 is decided separately by the Qualifying Examination, which is written a few weeks later. A pupil needs both — the certificate to show the cycle is complete, and the placement result to know which school to report to.
Roughly 214,800 candidates are entered each session across 620 accredited centres. Every candidate in a public school is entered by the school, at no cost to the family.
BECE at a glance
214,800
Candidates entered
2025/2026 session
620
Accredited centres
Across the 44 local government areas
10
Compulsory papers
All ten are written by every candidate
₦3,500
Entry fee
Paid in full by the State for a public-school candidate
The ten papers
Every candidate writes all ten. There are no optional subjects at BECE, and no substitution is allowed except between Islamic Studies and Christian Religious Studies, which a candidate chooses at entry according to faith.
| Paper | Subject | Objective | Theory | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English Language | 60 items | 3 questions | 2 hours |
| 2 | Mathematics | 50 items | 4 questions | 2 hours |
| 3 | Basic Science | 50 items | 4 questions | 1 hour 45 minutes |
| 4 | Basic Technology | 50 items | 3 questions | 1 hour 45 minutes |
| 5 | Social Studies | 50 items | 4 questions | 1 hour 30 minutes |
| 6 | Civic Education | 40 items | 3 questions | 1 hour 30 minutes |
| 7 | Hausa Language | 50 items | 3 questions | 1 hour 45 minutes |
| 8 | Islamic Studies or Christian Religious Studies | 50 items | 4 questions | 1 hour 45 minutes |
| 9 | Business Studies | 50 items | 3 questions | 1 hour 30 minutes |
| 10 | Agricultural Science | 50 items | 3 questions | 1 hour 30 minutes |
How a candidate is entered
Entry is made by the school, on the school portal, and nowhere else. A parent should confirm with the head teacher that the entry has been made and that the details on it are right.
The head teacher opens the entry list
Registration opens in the second term. The head teacher signs in to the school portal with the school code, and the system presents the JSS 3 class list already held in the school register. Nobody outside that register can be added without the education authority's approval.
Details are checked against the admission register
Surname, other names, sex, date of birth and the religious studies option are checked against the admission register and the birth certificate or age declaration. A name spelled differently on the entry and on the certificate is the single commonest cause of trouble years later, and it is the hardest to correct.
Biometric capture at the school
A photograph and fingerprints are taken at the school, in the classroom, by a Ministry team on a published date. A candidate who misses capture must attend the education authority office before the deadline; no candidate sits a paper without biometric enrolment.
The State settles the fee
For a public-school candidate the entry fee of ₦3,500 is charged to the State against the school's confirmed entry list. A candidate in an approved private school pays the same fee through the school, on the schedule published on the fees page.
Photo cards are issued
Examination numbers are allotted and photo cards printed and returned to the school about three weeks before the first paper. The head teacher issues each card against a signature. A candidate who loses a card reports it to the school at once for a duplicate.
The entry list is closed
Entries close on Tue 25 August 2026. After that the list is locked: no addition, no change of subject option and no change of centre except on the written approval of the Director of Examinations.
How the papers are graded
BECE uses the same nine-band scale as the senior certificate, so a pupil, a parent and a teacher read one scale for the whole of a school career. A credit is a C6 or better.
| Grade | Score | Points | Interpretation | Credit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | 75 – 100 marks | 1 | Excellent | Yes |
| B2 | 70 – 74 marks | 2 | Very Good | Yes |
| B3 | 65 – 69 marks | 3 | Good | Yes |
| C4 | 60 – 64 marks | 4 | Credit | Yes |
| C5 | 55 – 59 marks | 5 | Credit | Yes |
| C6 | 50 – 54 marks | 6 | Credit | Yes |
| D7 | 45 – 49 marks | 7 | Pass | No |
| E8 | 40 – 44 marks | 8 | Pass | No |
| F9 | 0 – 39 marks | 9 | Fail | No |
The fee, and who pays it
The gazetted BECE entry fee is ₦3,500. For every candidate in a public junior secondary school in Kano State the State pays it in full, directly to the Examinations Unit against the school's confirmed entry list. No money passes through the school and none is asked of the family.
That is not a concession; it follows from the law. Basic education in Kano State is free and compulsory from Primary 1 to JSS 3, and the examination that closes the cycle is part of the cycle. A public school that asks a parent for BECE money — as a "registration fee", a "portal charge", an "examination levy" or under any other name — is acting unlawfully, and the head teacher answers for it.
- Public school candidate — nothing to pay, at any stage
- Approved private school candidate — ₦3,500, paid through the school
- Integrated Islamiyyah school candidate — settled by KSQISMB
- Photo card, examination number and certificate — no charge
- Late entry, change of subject and re-sit — charged, and published on the fees page
What the certificate qualifies a pupil for, and how the Qualifying Examination fits
The Basic Education Certificate is proof that a pupil has completed the nine-year cycle and reached the standard set for it. It is the entry qualification for SS 1 in any senior secondary school in Nigeria, for a technical college, for a school of nursing or health technology at pre-basic level, for a craft or trade programme and for apprenticeship schemes that require formal schooling. It is also the document a candidate produces years later when entering for WASSCE or NECO as a private candidate.
It is not, on its own, a place in a school. Placement is decided by the Qualifying Examination, written in the first week of july by the same cohort. The Qualifying Examination produces an aggregate score against a candidate's stated choices and assigns each leaver to a senior secondary school, a science secondary school or a technical college. A candidate who passes BECE but does not sit the Qualifying Examination holds a certificate with no placement, and must apply through the education authority for a place wherever one remains.
The two results are read together. A candidate offered a science secondary school place is expected to hold credits in Mathematics and Basic Science; a candidate offered a technical college place is expected to hold a credit in Basic Technology or Mathematics. Where the BECE result and the placement plainly disagree, the Board reviews the placement before the session opens rather than after.
Withheld results, and how to enquire
A result is withheld when there is a question the Ministry must settle before it can be released: a suspected case of malpractice at the centre, a mismatch between the biometric record and the candidate present in the hall, a script that arrived unsigned or without an examination number, or an entry made outside the school register. Withholding is not a finding of guilt, and most withheld results are released.
The result portal shows a withheld result as withheld, with a reference. The head teacher writes to the Director of Examinations quoting that reference within 30 days, attaching the candidate's photo card, the attendance register for the paper and the supervisor's report. The Examinations Malpractice Committee sits fortnightly and the candidate or the head teacher may appear before it. A decision is issued in writing, and a released result carries the original grades unaltered.
Enquiries about a grade — as distinct from a withheld result — go to the results enquiry desk within 30 days of release. A script can be re-marked on payment of the review charge, which is refunded in full if the grade changes.
Re-sitting the BECE
A candidate who fails, misses the series or wants a better grade may enter again. The route depends on whether the candidate is still in school.
- A candidate still in JSS 3 who was absent with a medical or bereavement report is entered again by the school at the next series, at no charge
- A candidate who has left school enters as a private candidate at the education authority for the area, with the original entry details and photo card
- A private re-sit candidate pays the full entry fee of ₦3,500; the State pays only for candidates presented by a public school
- A re-sit is a whole series — all ten papers are written again, and grades are not carried across from an earlier sitting
- There is no limit on the number of attempts, and no age limit on a re-sit
- A candidate re-sitting after placement keeps the SS 1 place already offered; the placement does not lapse
- Certificates from an earlier sitting remain valid and are not surrendered
- A re-sit entry closes on the same date as the school entry list, with no separate late window
Questions parents and head teachers ask about the BECE
When is the BECE written, and how long does it last?
The school is asking me for BECE registration money. Is that lawful?
My child's name is spelt wrongly on the photo card. What now?
How many subjects must a candidate pass?
Does the BECE decide which senior secondary school my child attends?
My child was ill on the day of a paper. Can that paper be written later?
Where is the certificate collected, and is there a charge?
Can a pupil in an Islamiyyah or Tsangaya school sit the BECE?
What may a candidate carry into the hall?
Sitting the BECE this session?
Check the paper dates, confirm your centre, and read the rules that apply in the hall before the first morning.