The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has released the results for the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates.
A total of 1,969,313 candidates sat the examination conducted between April and June, out of the 1,973,365 candidates that registered across 23,554 recognised secondary schools in Nigeria.
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The exam was also conducted in schools operating the Nigerian curriculum in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, and Equatorial Guinea.
WAEC’s Head of Nigeria Office, Amos Dangut, announced the release at a press briefing in Lagos on Monday, noting a significant drop in the number of candidates who passed with credits in core subjects.
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According to him, 1,718,090 candidates, representing 87.24 per cent of those who sat the examination, obtained credit and above in a minimum of five subjects, with or without English Language and Mathematics.
However, only 754,545 candidates, representing 38.32 per cent, obtained credit and above in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics. This is a major drop from the 72.12 per cent recorded in the 2024 edition, indicating a 33.8 percentage point drop in performance.
Mr Dangut explained that the decline in performance may be related to the examination body’s efforts to curb malpractice.
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He said one of the key measures introduced was “the serialisation of objective test question papers in Mathematics, English Language, Biology, and Economics,” which made it difficult for candidates to cheat.
More details
Mr Dangut said 976,787 of the candidates who sat the exam were male, while 992,526 were female, representing 49.60 per cent and 50.40 per cent respectively.
Out of the total, 12,178 candidates with varying degrees of special needs were registered, including 112 visually impaired, 615 with hearing difficulties, 52 with mental health conditions, and 37 physically challenged candidates. WAEC said provisions were made to support these candidates, and their results have also been released.
So far, the results of 1,517,517 candidates (77.06 per cent) have been fully processed and released, while 451,796 candidates (22.94 per cent) still have one or more subjects pending due to issues being resolved.
WAEC said it is working to release the outstanding results in the coming days.
Examination malpractice
Mr Dangut said the results of 262,803 candidates, representing 13.34 per cent of the total number of candidates that sat the examination, are being withheld in connection with various reported cases of examination malpractice.
He said the cases are being investigated and that the outcome of the investigations will be presented to the Nigeria Examinations Committee (NEC) for consideration.
Mr Dangut also warned candidates and parents or guardians against the activities of fraudsters who operate rogue websites and impersonate the council to mislead the public.
“Most of these faceless miscreants have turned WAEC’s examination periods into a cash cow,” he said. “These platforms exploit the anxieties of students, lure parents into quiet complicity and try to erode public trust in the value chain of academic success.”
He added that some supervisors and invigilators were caught aiding and abetting examination malpractice during the examination.
“The Council, on its part, through the Nigeria Examinations Committee (NEC), will mete out appropriate sanctions to affected supervisors in collaboration with the various States’ Ministries of Education,” he said.
Other challenges faced
WAEC also highlighted logistics challenges, including a delay in conducting one major paper in a few locations, which threatened to disrupt participation for Nigerian candidates.
Another major issue was non-adherence to registration deadlines. Mr Dangut described it as “perhaps one of the greatest headaches” for the council, explaining that late registration and failure to upload students’ Continuous Assessment Scores (CASS) complicated preparations.
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He stressed that WAEC registration is not “open-ended” and that delays affect the production of examination and post-examination materials.
WAEC also noted that inflation has significantly raised the cost of conducting examinations. It appealed for support and understanding as it continues to navigate the economic realities.
Certificates, access to results
Mr Dangut said arrangements have been made for candidates to collect their certificates from their schools within 90 days of the release of the results.
He encouraged candidates to take advantage of the available channels to access their results and digital certificates.
WAEC said candidates can check their results online via its website, adding that digital certificates are also available through the WAEC Digital Certificate platform and will be accessible 48 hours after candidates check their results online.
Only candidates who have fulfilled their financial obligations will be able to access their results and digital certificates, WAEC said.
Mr Dangut also noted that the results of candidates sponsored by some state governments will be withheld until the debts owed to the council are cleared.
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