By John Umeh
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has revealed a troubling drop in performance among candidates who sat for the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), with only 38.32% obtaining credit passes in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
This represents a significant decline from the 72.12% recorded in 2024 — a staggering 33.8% decrease in performance year-on-year.
Announcing the results on Monday, August 4, in Lagos, the Head of WAEC’s Nigeria National Office, Dr. Amos Dangut, expressed concern during a press conference where he officially released the 2025 May/June results for school candidates.
According to Dr. Dangut, of the 1,969,313 candidates who took the examination, 1,718,090 (87.24%) secured credit and above in at least five subjects, excluding mandatory passes in English Language and Mathematics. However, only 754,545 candidates (38.32%) managed to pass five subjects including both core subjects. Among them, 347,192 were males (46.01%) and 407,353 were females (53.99%).
The 2025 WASSCE was administered in 23,554 recognised secondary schools across Nigeria, with 12,178 special-needs candidates — including those with visual and hearing impairments — accommodated with necessary provisions.
The gender breakdown of the candidates showed a fairly even split: 976,787 males (49.60%) and 992,526 females (50.40%).
Despite some delays and logistical challenges at select centres, Dangut reported that the examination process was largely successful, thanks to cooperation from federal and state education ministries, security agencies, and other stakeholders. He credited WAEC’s practice of serialising objective test papers — where each candidate received a unique version — with curbing examination malpractice, though he acknowledged it may have slightly impacted overall performance.
“While candidates performed on par with previous years in essay-based papers, there was a noticeable dip in the objective sections,” Dangut stated.
WAEC confirmed that 1,517,517 candidates (77.06%) had their results fully processed and released, while 451,796 candidates (22.94%) are still awaiting the release of some subjects due to ongoing investigations.
Regarding examination malpractice, results of 192,089 candidates — accounting for 9.75% — are currently being withheld, marking a slight improvement from the 11.92% reported in 2024. The Council cited growing concerns over mobile phone usage and coordinated cheating operations.
Looking ahead, WAEC reiterated its commitment to fully transitioning to computer-based testing for school candidates by 2026, following an initial rollout for private candidates in 2025.
WAEC also reminded candidates to apply for their digital certificates, which will be available within 48 hours of result release. Additionally, the Council urged state governments with outstanding debts to settle them promptly so that affected candidates can access their results without hindrance.
