2025 WASSCE: Reviewed Result Shows 9.16% Drop in Performance, Not 33.8%, as WAEC Apologises for Glitch

By LOVETH AZODO, Lagos

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has admitted to an error in the initial release of the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results, which had wrongly suggested a massive 33.8% decline in candidates’ performance compared to last year.

At a press briefing in Lagos on Friday, the Head of the Nigeria National Office, Dr. Amos Josiah Dangut, announced that a post-release review revealed the real drop in performance was 9.16%, not the earlier figure.

The error, he explained, was caused by a “wrongly used serialized code file” during the printing of the English Language Objective Test (Paper 3), which led to wrong grading keys being applied. This affected only candidates who sat for the paper-based version, while those who used the Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode were unaffected.

In the mistaken release made on Monday, August 4, WAEC had stated that 1,718,090 candidates (87.24%) obtained credits in at least five subjects (with or without English and Mathematics), but only 754,545 candidates (38.32%) reached the crucial benchmark of five credits including English Language and Mathematics — implying a 33.8% drop from 2024’s 72.12%. The corrected figures now show a far better performance than first reported.

“The Council sincerely apologises for this imbroglio and deeply regrets the emotional and mental dismay it might have caused the affected candidates and stakeholders,” Dr. Dangut said.

Reviewed Performance Figures
A total of 1,969,313 candidates sat the examination, comprising 976,787 males (49.60%) and 992,526 females (50.40%). Of this figure, 1,239,884 candidates (62.96%) obtained credits and above in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics — compared to 72.12% in 2024, hence the real decline of 9.16%.

In the reviewed results, 91.14% of candidates obtained credits in at least five subjects (with or without English and Mathematics).

Special Needs & Malpractice Cases
The 2025 exam also had 12,178 special needs candidates, including visually impaired, hearing impaired, physically challenged, and mentally challenged students, all of whom WAEC says were adequately supported.

Meanwhile, results of 191,053 candidates (9.7%) are being withheld over alleged examination malpractice — a figure lower than the 11.92% recorded last year. These cases remain under investigation.

Next Steps
WAEC has assured that all affected candidates can now check their updated results via www.waecdirect.org and apply for their digital certificates within 48 hours. However, candidates from states indebted to the Council will not have their results released until payments are made.

Dr. Dangut acknowledged the incident as “very embarrassing” and pledged measures to prevent a recurrence, thanking stakeholders for their understanding.