The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has released the 2025 WASSCE results for school candidates, revealing a disturbing drop in performance compared to last year. According to official figures, only 38.32% of candidates managed to secure five credits, including English Language and Mathematics — a steep decline from the 72.12% recorded in 2024. This downturn has sparked nationwide concern among students, parents, and education stakeholders.
WAEC Reports Sharp Decline in Pass Rate
Out of the 1,969,313 students who sat for the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) across 23,554 schools in Nigeria, only 754,545 candidates achieved a minimum of five credits, including English and Mathematics. This represents just 38.32% of the total candidates — a drop of 33.8 percentage points from last year’s pass rate.
At a press briefing held on Monday, August 4, 2025, at the WAEC National Office in Yaba, Lagos, the Head of Nigeria National Office, Dr Amos Dangut, attributed the sharp decline to the Council’s new anti-malpractice strategies.
Why Performance Dropped in 2025
Dr Dangut explained that WAEC implemented a serialisation system for objective test papers in core subjects like English, Mathematics, Biology, and Economics. The strategy made collusion more difficult and drastically reduced examination malpractice.
“We observed a dip in the performance of objective test sections, though the essay components remained stable,” he noted. “This is clear evidence that students must now rely more on genuine preparation than shortcuts.”
WAEC also deployed a real-time digital scoring system to enhance the accuracy and speed of result processing.
Result Processing and Malpractice Cases
Of the total candidates, 1,517,517 (77.06%) had their results fully processed and released, while 451,796 (22.94%) are still undergoing technical resolution. WAEC assured that these results would be finalised soon.
Meanwhile, 192,089 results (9.75%) are being withheld due to various forms of malpractice, including illegal use of mobile phones and answer collusion. This is a slight improvement from the 11.92% withheld in 2024.
Female Candidates Outperform Male Counterparts
Gender distribution in the 2025 exam leaned slightly toward females, with 992,526 (50.40%) female candidates compared to 976,787 (49.60%) males. Of the 754,545 candidates who passed with at least five credits (including English and Mathematics), females accounted for 53.99% (407,353) while males made up 46.01% (347,192).
WAEC Introduces CBT Option Ahead of Full Digitisation
A key milestone in this year’s examination was WAEC’s introduction of a Computer-Based Testing (CBT) option alongside the traditional paper format. Candidates were allowed to choose their preferred mode, as part of WAEC’s push for full digitisation by 2026.
“This makes WAEC one of the first examining bodies to administer an achievement test via CBT,” Dr Dangut said.
Special Needs Candidates and Accessibility
WAEC also made provision for 12,178 special needs candidates, ensuring inclusive access to the 2025 WASSCE. The breakdown includes:
- 112 visually impaired
- 615 hearing-impaired
- 52 mentally challenged
- 37 physically disabled
All received necessary support throughout the examination period.
States Owing WAEC Face Result Withholding
Dr Dangut issued a firm warning that states with outstanding debts will not be granted access to the results of their sponsored candidates until full payments are made. This policy, he said, is to ensure accountability and continued operations of the Council.
How to Check 2025 WAEC Results
Candidates can now check their results with ease. To check your results by yourself, click here [WAEC Result Checker Portal] to see two simple methods you can use.
For those who need a scratch card, contact the support team via direct message to purchase and check your result with ease.
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