The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has released the results of the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), revealing a significant decline in performance compared to previous years.
Out of the 1,969,313 candidates who sat for the examination, only 754,545 students—just 38.3%—obtained credit passes or higher in at least five compulsory subjects, including English Language and Mathematics. This marks a steep decline of 33.8% from the 72.12% pass rate recorded in 2024, making it the lowest performance in recent WAEC history.
The gender distribution of candidates shows that 992,526 were female (50.40%) and 976,787 were male (49.60%), indicating a slightly higher participation of girls in the 2025 edition of the exam.
In addition, WAEC revealed that the results of 192,089 candidates—9.75% of the total—have been withheld over examination malpractice, although this represents an improvement from last year’s 11.92% malpractice rate. The Council attributes the reduction to the introduction of Computer-Based Testing (CBT) in key subjects such as English Language, Mathematics, Biology, and Economics, which helped minimize cheating and impersonation.
Meanwhile, WAEC stated that results for students sponsored by state governments will be withheld until their sponsors settle all outstanding examination fees. The Council has urged state authorities to address the issue promptly to avoid disrupting the academic progress of affected students.
The examination body added that investigations into malpractice cases are ongoing, and a final decision on whether to release or cancel the withheld results will be made in due course.
LeadNaija News has learnt that Education experts have expressed concern over the alarming drop in performance, calling for urgent interventions at the school, state, and federal levels to improve teaching standards, learning environments, and student preparedness for future examinations.
𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗔𝗽𝗽 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗧𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗔𝘀 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽!
