Nigeria Senior Secondary School Statistics 2023/2024: Schools by Zone, Type and State

Nigeria’s senior secondary education sector includes thousands of schools spread across the country’s six geopolitical zones. Statistics published by the National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC) for the 2023/2024 period provide an overview of school distribution by geopolitical zone, ownership and school type, alongside student enrolment figures for selected states.

The figures offer a useful picture of the scale and structure of senior secondary education in Nigeria, including the significant presence of privately owned schools and the concentration of schools in the South-West.

Senior Secondary Schools by Geopolitical Zone

The NSSEC school distribution figures list the following number of senior secondary schools in each of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones:

Geopolitical zoneNumber of schools
North-Central7,619
North-East3,138
North-West5,766
South-East4,985
South-South5,258
South-West19,145

The South-West has the highest reported number, with 19,145 schools. North-Central follows with 7,619, while the North-West has 5,766. The North-East has the lowest figure in the list, with 3,138 schools.

Distribution of Schools by Type

The NSSEC statistics also classify senior secondary schools by type. Private schools account for the largest share, followed by public schools.

School typeNumber of schoolsShare
Private34,08574.05%
Public11,41824.81%
Technical and vocational4260.93%
Special needs980.21%
Total46,027100%

Private institutions make up approximately three-quarters of the schools recorded in this classification. Their 34,085 schools represent 74.05% of the total. Public schools number 11,418, representing 24.81%. Technical and vocational schools account for 426 schools (0.93%), while 98 schools (0.21%) are classified as special-needs schools.

Top Five States by Number of Senior Secondary Schools

Oyo State ranks first in the NSSEC table of the five states with the highest number of senior secondary schools. Lagos is second, followed by Ogun, Kano and Plateau.

RankStateSchoolsStudents
1Oyo7,903273,981
2Lagos5,445276,286
3Ogun2,983464,194
4Kano2,571426,473
5Plateau1,99553,700

Oyo leads this group with 7,903 schools, while Lagos has 5,445. Ogun records 2,983 schools, Kano has 2,571 and Plateau has 1,995. The student figures are reproduced as presented in the NSSEC table; they are not a ranking by student enrolment.

What the Statistics Show

  • Private-school presence: Private schools account for 74.05% of the schools in the ownership/type breakdown.
  • Regional concentration: The South-West has the largest reported number of senior secondary schools among the six geopolitical zones.
  • State distribution: Oyo, Lagos and Ogun occupy the first three positions in the top-five state table by school count.
  • Specialised provision: Technical and vocational schools and special-needs schools are included as distinct categories in the national classification.

About the National Senior Secondary Education Commission

The National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC) is Nigeria’s federal body responsible for regulating, standardising, funding support for and advising on senior secondary education. Its stated mission is to help produce graduates equipped with life skills and academic qualifications that meet international standards.

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