Stakeholders React as WAEC 2025 WASSCE Results Spark Outrage Over Mass Failure
Stakeholders in Nigeria’s education sector are still voicing concerns over the recently released 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results, made public by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).
PulseNets learnt that WAEC officially announced the results on Monday, August 4, 2025, sparking widespread debate about performance, credibility, and the future of examinations in Nigeria.
“The West African Examinations Council is pleased to inform candidates who sat WASSCE for School Candidates, 2025 that the result has officially been released today, Monday, August 4, 2025,” WAEC stated.
According to data obtained by PulseNets, out of 1,969,313 candidates who sat for the examination, only 754,545 (38.32%) obtained credits and above in at least five subjects including English Language and Mathematics.
By comparison, in 2024, 72.12% of candidates passed with the same benchmark, showing a sharp 33.8% decline.
WASSCE 2025: Parents, Teachers, and Students React
The sharp drop in performance immediately triggered anger among parents, teachers, and student groups. Many argued that the mass failure in English and Mathematics calls WAEC’s credibility into question.
Stakeholders who spoke to PulseNets demanded an independent probe and even a possible overhaul of the council’s leadership.
They warned that turning WASSCE into a “trial-and-error experiment” undermines its status as a standardized evaluation for secondary school leavers and a basic requirement for tertiary institution admission.
Following the uproar, PulseNets learnt that WAEC reviewed results in Mathematics, English, Biology, and Economics, admitting that “technical glitches” had compromised its systems. The Council apologized, temporarily withdrew access to the portal, and re-uploaded corrected results.
Teachers and Students Call It a “System Failure”
The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) told PulseNets that the embarrassing episode is evidence of “system collapse.”
“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 students, who had conditioned their minds to write the paper in the morning, were delayed till evening and even night in some cases,” the NUT said.
Similarly, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) described the experience as “terrible.”
“What do you expect? The conduct of the exam in some instances left much to be desired. Look at the day they wrote the English Language paper. It was horrific. Candidates were drained emotionally and were tired.
But a lot of other factors also contributed. The technical hitches in the exam were what some candidates also experienced during the UTME,” NANS told PulseNets.
Private Teachers Slam WAEC Credibility
A secondary school teacher, Divine Mike, described the situation as a “national disaster.”
“You cannot make such a serious examination a subject of trial and error.
Today the pass rate is 38 per cent, tomorrow it becomes 63 per cent. How are we supposed to trust the authenticity of these results?” he queried.
Mike urged the Federal Government to probe WAEC and reshuffle its management team.
Another private school teacher, Israel Chukwudi, stressed that WAEC’s failure to manage logistics raises questions about its planned Computer-Based Testing (CBT) system for 2026.
“If WAEC, as an examination body, could not put its logistics together to ensure smooth running, how would it transit to the Computer-Based Testing it is proposing,” he asked.
Students Shift Hopes to NECO
Some students told PulseNets they were pinning their hopes on the National Examination Council (NECO).
A candidate, Ogwuche Aminu, lamented:
“This has never happened before. Why would an examination body as mighty as WAEC be toiling with innocent children’s future this way?
My only hope now is in NECO. I pray I clear the paper to enable me continue my education.”
Another student, Blessing Uguru, blamed laziness among peers while expressing her own determination:
“It is a pity that a lot of students failed the examination. They are to be blamed for the mass failure.
Students no longer make time to read any more due to laziness; as for me, I leant the hard way. I’m patiently and expectantly waiting for NECO to know my fate.”
Federal Government Reacts
Speaking to PulseNets, the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Olatunji Alausa, through the Director of Press and Public Relations, Boriowo Folasade, reassured Nigerians of government’s commitment to educational excellence.
Alausa highlighted that exam malpractice rates have consistently declined over the last three years— from 16.29% in 2023 to 11.92% in 2024, and 9.70% in 2025.
Also Read: WAEC, NECO: FG Bans Under-18 Candidates from Taking Exams
He attributed the progress to WAEC’s anti-malpractice measures, including the serialization of question papers in core subjects such as English, Mathematics, Biology, and Economics.
“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.
