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• Says post-results release procedure showed bugs in results
By Gabriel Dike and Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Like the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), the management of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has acknowledged errors in the results of the May/June 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and has begun the process to review it. The council confirmed in a statement that a review would be carried out in four core subjects.
There was national concern over the results, particularly in subjects where paper serialisation was introduced as part of security measures but WAEC promptly responded to the concerns, promising to address the issue.
On Monday, WAEC released results of the school examination taken by over 1.9 million candidates in over 23,000 secondary schools. Only 38.32 per cent obtained five credits including English Language and Mathematics.
The poor performance led to public outcry. Some stakeholders demanded outright cancellation of the results while a federal lawmaker gave the council an ultimatum to release the withheld results of 192,089 candidates.
Of 1,973,365 candidates that sat for the school exam, only 754,545 students, representing 38.32 per cent obtained credits and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has commended the swift response of WAEC to the national outcry that trailed the results.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, in a statement, reaffirmed unwavering commitment to upholding the integrity of national examinations, and appreciated the patience of affected candidates, and assured the public of its continued pursuit of fairness and credibility in assessment processes.
“This development reinforces our broader education reform agenda which prioritises examination integrity across all bodies under the Ministry’s supervision, particularly WAEC and the National Examinations Council (NECO)
“In line with this, WAEC and NECO are set to commence a phased rollout of Computer-Based Testing (CBT), beginning with objective components in November 2026. The adoption of CBT represents a critical step toward curbing malpractice, preventing question leakages, and restoring public trust in the examination system.
“It is a necessary reform to ensure Nigerian students are assessed strictly on merit, and that their certificates retain credibility both locally and internationally.
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Dr. Alausa emphasised that safeguarding the integrity of examinations is not optional but essential. “Upholding high standards protects the future of our young people and sustains Nigeria’s global reputation for academic excellence.”
He renewed the commitment of the Ministry to working with WAEC, NECO, and all stakeholders to deliver an assessment system that reflects the true ability of Nigerian students and strengthens public confidence in the nation’s education framework.
WAEC, in a statement by the acting Public Affairs Officer, Mrs. Moyosola Adesina, yesterday, said: “Sincerely regrets to inform the general public of technical issues discovered during the internal review of the recently released results.
“As part of our efforts to curb examination malpractice, the council embarked on an innovation (paper serialisation) already deployed by a national examination body. It is also worth noting that this is in line with best practices in assessment.
“The paper serialisation was carried out in Mathematics, English Language, Biology and Economics. However, an internal post result release procedure revealed some technical bugs in the results.
“The council, being a responsive body that is sensitive to fairness and professionalism, has decided to urgently review and correct the technical glitches that led to the situation, as a result, access to the WASSCE (SC) 2025 results has been temporarily denied on the result checker portal.”
The council extended its deep and sincere apologies to all affected candidates and the general public also appreciated their patience and understanding as they work diligently to resolve the technical issues with transparency and urgency within the next 24 hours.
Adesina advised candidates who have previously checked their results to re-check after 24 hours from now.
“WAEC remains committed to upholding excellence, fairness and transparency in all our assessment processes.
Thank you, for always counting on our integrity and reposing confidence in us to render quality service to the Nigerian child.’’
