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Kano State Ministry of Education MOE Education ERP · KSMOE

EXAMINATIONS · COMMON ENTRANCE

Common Entrance Examination

Sat at the end of Primary 6 by every pupil leaving a Kano primary school. Four papers in one morning decide which junior secondary school a pupil reports to in September, and which pupils are offered a place in the selective science intake.

What the Common Entrance is for

The Common Entrance Examination is the State's transition paper between primary and junior secondary school. It is written in the third week of march by pupils in Primary 6 in public primary schools, approved private schools and integrated Islamiyyah schools, and it is set and marked by the Kano State Ministry of Education.

It does two things at once. First, it places every pupil in a junior secondary school — normally the one nearest home that has room, because basic education is compulsory and no child may be left without a place. Second, it identifies the pupils offered the selective intake: the junior sections of the science secondary schools and the specialist junior schools, where places are limited and competition is real.

About 268,400 pupils are entered each session across 1,180 centres, which makes it the largest single examination the Ministry conducts. Because transition is compulsory, the examination cannot be used to keep a child out of school: a pupil who scores poorly is placed in the ordinary junior secondary school for the ward, not turned away.

Common Entrance at a glance

268,400

Pupils entered

The largest series the Ministry conducts

1,180

Centres

One within reach of every ward

4

Papers

All written in a single morning

No charge

Cost to a public-school pupil

The State pays the ₦1,500 entry fee

The four papers

All four are written on the same morning, at the same centre, in a single sitting with a short break between the second and third papers. Every paper is objective and machine-marked.

Paper Subject Items Duration Weight
1 English Language 50 items 45 minutes 30 per cent
2 Mathematics 50 items 45 minutes 30 per cent
3 Basic Science and Technology 40 items 35 minutes 20 per cent
4 Social Studies, Civic Education and Quantitative Reasoning 40 items 35 minutes 20 per cent

How a pupil is registered

Registration is made by the head teacher on the school portal from the Primary 6 class register. A parent registers nothing and pays nothing.

1

The head teacher opens the Primary 6 list

Registration opens in the first week of the second term. The portal presents the Primary 6 register already held for the school; the head teacher confirms each pupil, corrects any spelling against the admission register, and adds any pupil admitted mid-year.

2

Parents state their school choices

Each pupil states three junior secondary schools in order of preference, and may add one science or specialist school. The head teacher records the choices from a form signed by the parent or guardian. Choices should be realistic about distance — a place is of little use if the daily journey is not.

3

Biometric capture and photo cards

Photographs and fingerprints are taken at the school on a published date. Examination numbers are allotted and photo cards returned to the school about a fortnight before the paper, and issued by the head teacher against a signature.

4

Centres are allotted

The Ministry allots each school to a centre, normally a junior secondary school within the same ward. No pupil should have to travel outside the local government area. The centre is printed on the photo card and confirmed by the head teacher a week before.

5

The paper is written

The examination is written this session on Thu 3 September 2026. Pupils are seated by 8:00 for a 8:30 start and are finished before 12:00. A pupil arriving after 9:00 is not admitted.

6

Results and placement are published

Marking is machine-based and results are released about five weeks later, to schools and on the results portal. Placement lists follow within two weeks of the results.

How placement is decided and published

Placement runs on three things in order: the aggregate score out of 400, the choices the parent recorded at registration, and the places available in each school. The Ministry places a pupil in the highest-ranked choice that still has room at the pupil's score, and where none of the three choices can be met the pupil is placed in the nearest junior secondary school in the ward with a vacancy.

The selective intake is handled first and separately. Places in the junior sections of the science secondary schools are offered strictly on aggregate score against the cut-off published for each school, with the State's girl-child provision reserving a proportion of places in each intake for girls, and a small number of places held for candidates from educationally disadvantaged wards. The cut-off is published with the lists so that a parent can see exactly where a child stood.

Lists are published in three places at once: on the results portal, on the notice board of every local government education authority, and at the primary school the pupil attended. Each entry shows the examination number, the aggregate score, the school placed and the reporting date. A pupil reports to the placed school with the photo card, the placement slip and the primary school leaving testimonial. Reporting closes two weeks after the session opens, and a place not taken up is released to the waiting list.

The science secondary intake

Eighteen science secondary schools run a selective junior section, boarding, with laboratories and a heavier science and mathematics timetable from JSS 1. The intake is small — a few hundred places against a State-wide entry of more than a quarter of a million — and it is offered on the Common Entrance aggregate alone.

A place carries no tuition, no boarding charge and no laboratory charge. The family provides the uniform, games kit and personal effects on the list issued with the offer. A pupil who is offered a place and declines it keeps the ordinary junior secondary placement made on the same lists.

  • Offered on aggregate score against a published cut-off, school by school
  • Boarding, with no tuition and no boarding charge
  • A proportion of places in every intake reserved for girls
  • Places held for candidates from educationally disadvantaged wards
  • A medical screening before reporting, arranged by the school
  • Declining an offer does not forfeit the ordinary placement
The science secondary intake

Nothing is payable for a public-school pupil

The gazetted Common Entrance entry fee is ₦1,500, and the State pays it in full for every pupil in a public primary school. Nothing is collected from a parent for registration, for the photo card, for the centre, for the result or for the placement slip.

A pupil in an approved private school pays the same ₦1,500 through the school, and the proprietor may add nothing to it. If any school or officer asks a parent for money in connection with this examination, report it with the school name and the amount to the local government education authority for the area, or on 0800 MOE KANO.

What a pupil brings on the morning

Keep it to this list. Anything else is refused at the gate, and there is nowhere to keep it.

  • The photo card issued by the school — no card, no admission
  • Two HB pencils and a good eraser — all four papers are answered in pencil
  • A blue or black pen for the attendance register
  • A ruler; no calculator is allowed or needed
  • A clear bottle of water
  • The school uniform, worn
  • Arrival by 8:00; no pupil is admitted after 9:00
  • Nothing else at all — no telephone, no watch with a screen, no bag, no printed material

Questions parents ask about Common Entrance

When is it written this session?
On Thu 3 September 2026, in the third week of march, in a single morning sitting. The date is fixed State-wide and there is no second sitting.
Can my child fail and be left without a place?
No. Basic education is compulsory through JSS 3, so every pupil who sits is placed somewhere. A low score affects which school, not whether there is a school. The selective science intake is the only part of the examination where a place can be lost on score.
How do I choose the three schools?
Sign the choice form the head teacher gives you and think hard about distance, whether the school is a girls', boys' or mixed school, and whether it is a day or boarding school. Put the school you most want first. A choice list of three distant, heavily oversubscribed schools is the commonest reason a pupil ends up placed somewhere nobody chose.
My child was ill on the day. What happens?
There is no separate sitting. Report it to the head teacher within seven days with a medical report from a government hospital or a recognised clinic. The pupil is placed administratively by the education authority in a junior secondary school in the ward, and is entered again at the next series only if the parent wants a shot at the selective intake.
We are moving to Kano from another state. What does my child sit?
A pupil transferring into a Kano school outside the ordinary transition sits the Placement Test rather than the Common Entrance. It is written on demand within ten working days at the education authority for the area, covers three subjects, and fixes the right class. See the fee schedule for the charge.
Can I appeal the placement?
Yes. Take the placement slip and the result to the local government education authority within 14 days of the lists being published. Appeals are heard on three grounds only: a clerical error in the score or the choices, a placement that ignored a recorded first choice which had room at the pupil's score, and a placement to a school outside reasonable travelling distance from the pupil's home. The Placement Appeals Committee sits weekly through the reporting period.
The result shows a score I do not believe. Can the script be checked?
Papers are objective and machine-marked, so a wrong score is almost always a mis-shaded answer sheet rather than a marking error. Even so, a re-check is available on written request through the head teacher within 30 days of release, on payment of the review charge, refunded in full if the score changes.

A child in Primary 6 this session?

Confirm the entry with the head teacher, sign the choice form, and check the examination date and centre on the photo card as soon as it is issued.

Examination timetable Find your centre