WAEC has released the 2025 WASSCE results for school candidates, revealing only 38.32% passed both Mathematics and English.
WAEC has released the 2025 WASSCE results for school candidates, revealing only 38.32% passed both Mathematics and English.
West African Examinations Council (WAEC), on Monday, released the results of the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates.
WAEC revealed that while 87.24 per cent of candidates obtained Credit and above in at least five subjects, only 38.32 per cent achieved this in English Language and Mathematics, marking a sharp 33. 8 per cent drop from the 72.12 per cent recorded in 2024.
Head of National Office, Mr. Amos Dangut, who briefed journalists in Lagos, explained that the examination had a total of 1,973,365 registered candidates from 23, 554 recognised schools, with 1,969,313 actually sitting for the examination in Nigeria and across some WAEC-accredited institutions in Benin Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, and Equatorial Guinea.
A breakdown of the results showed that out of the total number of candidates that sat for the examination, 1,517,517 candidates, representing 77.06 per cent, had their results fully processed and released. Only 754,545 candidates, representing 38.32 per cent, obtained Credit and above in at least five subjects, including English and Mathematics.
Out of that figure, 407,353, representing 53.99 per cent, were females and 347,192, representing 46.01 per cent, were males.
A total of 451,796 candidates, representing 22.94 per cent, had parts of their results still being processed. 1,718,090 candidates, representing 87.24 per cent, obtained Credit and above in any five subjects, regardless of English or Mathematics.
“This performance shows a significant decline from last year’s 72.12 per cent achievement in this critical benchmark,” Dangut stated.
The HNO stated that a total of 12,178 special needs candidates were catered for, including; 112 visually impaired, 615 with hearing loss, 52 mentally challenged, and 37 physically challenged.
The results of 292,089 candidates, representing 9.75 per cent, were being withheld due to reported cases of examination malpractice, he said. While this marked an improvement from the 11.92 per cent recorded in 2024, there were persistent issues of increasing use of mobile phones during exams, organised cheating in some schools, and collusion involving supervisors and teachers, Dangut said, adding that the council will sanction all offenders.
He stated, “Investigations are ongoing and decisions will be made by the council’s Examination Committee. Candidates involved can file appeals via waecinternational.org/complaints.”
He disclosed that the council introduced serialisation of objective questions in Mathematics and English Language, Biology, and Economics, to curb examination malpractice, adding that each candidate received a unique version of the exam.
While essay performance remained consistent, there was a noticeable decline in objective paper scores, highlighting the effectiveness of the anti-cheating strategy, he said.
“Still, WAEC reported incidents where candidates assigned different question papers attempted to copy one another,” Dangut said.
He reaffirmed the council’s commitment towards credible assessments and warned that any form of malpractice will continue to face strong disciplinary action.
The HNO stated that the council was finalising plans for the complete computer-based administration of WASSCE for school candidates in 2026, adding that it is embracing improved technology to deliver faster and more secure assessments.
He advised candidates to check their results from www.waecdirect.org, using the Smart Identity Card issued during the exams.
According to him, “Digital certificates will be available in 48 hours and hard copies will be ready within 90 days.
“However, candidates from states owing WAEC will not have their results released until debts are settled.”
Dangut appealed to defaulting state governments to do the needful to avoid penalising innocent students.
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