• WAEC withholds result of 192,089 over exam fraud, 2 states for non-payment of fees
The mass failure in the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) has stirred disbelief, shock and anger. In separate reactions, stakeholders expressed grave concern over the poor performance.
According to details of the result announced by WAEC yesterday, a paltry 38.32 per cent of the 1,973,365 million candidates that wrote the May/June 2025 examination obtained five credits including English Language and Mathematics. The implication is that 1,218,820 candidates failed to obtain five credits including English Language and Mathematics and therefore may not be able to secure admission into tertiary institutions.
President, Association for Formidable Educational Development (AFED), Mr. Emmanuel Oji, said the steady decline in academic achievement in senior secondary school examinations not only demands a thorough review of approach but also a wake-up call for a critical re-examination of the nation’s education system.
“It’s alarming that less than 50 percent of students achieved the desired passes, raising questions about the effectiveness of our current methods,” he said
He noted that emphasis on English Language as a compulsory subject in African education is particularly noteworthy and called for its reassessment and relevance in assessing knowledge in our cultural context?
Oji said the decline in performance warrants a closer look at various factors, including inadequate preparation, cramming, insufficient study materials and poor teaching methods. “I am just being sincere, this is not going to get any better except, we redirect our education system to reflect our economic driven skill, character, nationalism or patriotism. We may be running around the same circle. Our education system calls for emergency overhaul,” Oji stated.
Proprietor of Royal Academy, Mushin, Lagos, Mrs. Ronke Akintunde, equally called for a thorough review of the examination to know who to blame. “I am yet to recover from the shock of candidates’ abysmal performance in the exam. I have read the news item on the results three times to be sure of what I am reading. Certainly, government should ask questions about what happened?”
A concerned parent, Elder Sunday Nnamdi, described the results as unacceptable and insisted WAEC and government must tell Nigerians what led to the woeful performance.
According to him, since the announcement of the release of the results, only 38.32 percent of candidates got five credits with English and Maths, is something to ask questions.
Nnamdi added that he was expecting better results than last year and 61.68 percent of candidates failed, which is an indictment on schools and WAEC.
The examination was also administered to candidates from some schools in Benin Republic, Cote d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea, where the Nigerian curriculum for senior secondary schools is being used.
Announcing the results in Lagos, WAEC’s Head of National Office (HNO), Dr. Amos Dangut, said 754,545 candidates, representing 38.32 percent obtained credits and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics. ”The analysis of statistics of candidates’ performance in the examination shows that out of the 1,969,313 candidates that sat for the examination, 1,718,090 candidates, representing 87.24 percent, obtained credit and above in a minimum of any five subjects with or without English Language and/or Mathematics.”
According to him, 347,192 representing 46.01 percent were male candidates, while 407,353 representing 53.99 percent were female candidates.
He said a comparison of the percentage of candidates in this category in WASSCE for school 2024 and 2025, reveal that in 2025 WASSCE, there is 33.8 percent decrease in performance that is, those who obtained credit and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics, was 72.12 percent.
The HNO said 12,178 candidates with varying degrees of special needs sat for the examination and of this number, 615 had impaired hearing; 52 were spastic cum mentally challenged and 37 were physically challenged.
“All these candidates were adequately provided for in the administration of the examination. The results of these candidates have been processed and are also now being released along with those of other candidates,” he stated.
Dangut disclosed that the results of 192,089 candidates, representing 9.75 percent of the total number of candidates that sat the examination, are being withheld in connection with various reported cases of examination malpractice and the figure is 2.17 percent lower than the 11.92 percent recorded in the WASSCE for school candidates, 2024.
“The increasing use of cell phones in the examination hall, in spite of the existing ban, and organized cheating in some schools, are other nagging issues. All the cases are being investigated and reports of the investigations will be presented to the appropriate Committee of the Council for consideration and final decisions.
“The committee’s decisions will be communicated to the affected candidates through their various schools, in due course. Candidates affected by these decisions can now call for redress of their malpractice cases if they so wish.”
He explained that the council would continue to sanction cases of examination malpractice, as schools, supervisors, teachers and candidates perpetrating this evil are not helping the educational system.
The HNO stressed that as WASSCE for school candidates, 2025 results are being uploaded on the results website, candidates after checking the result online, apply for their digital certificate, which will be released 48 hours thereafter.
“Candidates who have fulfilled their financial obligations to the council can access their results on the council’s results website: www.waecdirect.org , within the next 12 hours. Copies of the result listing will be sent to schools shortly,’’ Dangut said.
The WAEC boss said the coordination of examiners and marking of candidates’ scripts took place from July 3 to July 21, 2025, while 87,499 examiners and 2,706 e-examiners participated in the coordination and marking exercise.
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