There have been continued reactions from stakeholders and Nigerians at large after the recently released 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results, with increased calls for urgent reforms as they described the recent outcome as a national embarrassment.
Remember that the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) recently admitted to marking errors in the serialised objective questions in the recently released West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) 2025 results, during a briefing with journalists on Friday, August 8.
Speaking with a journalist in Lagos, Head of National Office (Nigeria), Dr Amos Dangut, said with the review, 62.96 per cent of the candidates who sat for the examination had credits and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
Dangut apologised for technical infractions in the marking of exam scripts.
He identified the error in the previous results of 754,545 candidates, representing 38.32 per cent of candidates, who obtained credits and above in a minimum of five (5) subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
He added that the reviewed results showed that 1,239,884, representing 62.9 per cent of the candidates, obtained Credits and above in at least five subjects.
However, this year’s examination results have elicited strong criticism, with parents, teachers and student groups demanding an independent investigation and a shake-up of WAEC’s management team.
Stakeholders argue that subjecting such a critical exam to trial and error is unacceptable.
NUT, NANS Blame System Failure
The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) said the mass failure was the result of systemic lapses.
“Let us first take a look at the condition under which some of the candidates sat for some of the papers, especially the English Language paper. The Council said it discovered that the paper leaked, and instead of cancelling it, went ahead to let students write it at odd hours,” the union said.
Similarly, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) decried the poor conduct of the exams.
“The condition under which the candidates wrote some papers, especially English, was terrible. Candidates were drained emotionally and tired. The conduct of the exam in some instances left much to be desired,” NANS stated.
While WAEC admitted to experiencing technical glitches which forced it to temporarily withdraw access to some results and later apologising for the errors, the event has left doubts in the minds of stakeholders as to the readiness of the exam body to transition to Computer-Based Testing (CBT) by 2026.
Reacting to the controversy, the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Olatunji Alausa, through the ministry’s spokesperson, Boriowo Folasade, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to accountability and excellence.
Alausa noted a consistent decline in examination malpractice rates over the past three years, from 16.29% in 2023 to 9.70% in 2025, attributing it to WAEC’s reforms, including serialisation of question papers in key subjects.
“We are committed to producing smart, competent teachers to better prepare our students for academic success. This is crucial to ensuring that our examinations remain credible and flawless. Let us work together to ensure that every hardworking child has the opportunity to succeed,” the Minister said.
