The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) on Thursday, August 7, 2025, officially acknowledged technical errors in the recently released results of the May/June 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and announced an urgent review process to correct the discrepancies.
In a formal statement, WAEC confirmed that the review will focus on four core subjects: Mathematics, English Language, Biology, and Economics. This move follows the release of the examination results on Monday, August 4, where 1,969,313 candidates from 23,554 secondary schools participated.
According to the results, only 754,545 candidates—representing 38.32%—achieved credits or above in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics. This reflects a sharp decline of 33.8% in performance compared to the 72.12% success rate recorded in 2024, sparking public concern and calls for action.
The decline in performance has resulted in public outcry, with some stakeholders demanding the outright cancellation of the WASSCE results for 2025. Additionally, a federal lawmaker has urged WAEC to release the results of 192,089 candidates, representing 9.75% of the total examinees, whose results were withheld due to allegations of examination malpractice.
WAEC’s acting Public Affairs Officer, Mrs. Moyosola Adesina, expressed regret over the technical issues discovered and explained that the council adopted a new anti-malpractice innovation called “paper serialisation.” This innovation, already in use by a national examination body, was employed for the first time in the May/June 2025 exams for the mentioned core subjects as part of best practices in assessments. However, during the post-result release internal review, technical bugs related to this system were detected.
“As a responsive and professional examination body committed to fairness, WAEC has taken the decision to urgently review and correct these technical glitches,” the statement said. As a result, access to the WASSCE (SC) 2025 results has been temporarily suspended on the result checker portal to prevent further confusion.
Mrs. Adesina extended sincere apologies to all affected candidates and the general public and thanked them for their patience and understanding. She assured that WAEC is working transparently and with urgency to resolve the issues within 24 hours.
Candidates who had already checked their results have been advised to re-check after 24 hours from August 7, 2025.
Mrs. Adesina reaffirmed WAEC’s commitment to excellence, fairness, and transparency in all assessment processes, stating, “Thank you for always counting on our integrity and reposing confidence in us to deliver quality service to the Nigerian child.”
Regarding malpractice, WAEC confirmed that results for 192,089 candidates (9.75% of the total) were withheld, marking a 2.17% decrease compared to 11.92% withheld in 2024.
WAEC’s prompt actions underscore its dedication to maintaining the credibility of the WASSCE and reinforcing trust among stakeholders in West Africa’s educational system.
