WAEC Admits Marking Error, Releases Reviewed 2025 WASSCE Results with Major Improvement in Pass Rate

Lagos, Nigeria — The West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Nigeria, has officially released revised results for the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates, after uncovering grading discrepancies that had significantly lowered candidates’ performance statistics.

In a candid press briefing held on Friday at WAEC’s national office in Yaba, Lagos, the Head of WAEC Nigeria, Dr. Amos Dangut, delivered a rare public apology, acknowledging what he described as “a very embarrassing” error in the marking of serialised papers.

“With deep sorrow and regret, I, on behalf of the Registrar to Council, Management, and Staff of WAEC Nigeria, apologise for the discrepancies discovered in the grading of serialised papers,” Dangut stated. “This is very difficult for us to say, but we have to admit that it is very embarrassing.”

According to Dangut, the error stemmed from the council’s adoption of a new security feature known as paper serialisation, already in use by another national examination body. The measure, aimed at curbing examination malpractice, involved printing multiple versions of question papers with unique serial codes. However, in the case of the English Language Objective Test (Paper 3), a wrongly assigned serialised code file led to the use of incorrect marking keys.

Other serialised subjects affected included Mathematics, Biology, and Economics. Importantly, candidates who sat for the exam via the computer-based mode were unaffected.

“We investigated and discovered that a serialised code file was wrongly used in the printing of the English Language Objective paper. This resulted in them being marked with incorrect answer keys,” Dangut explained.

Significant Improvement in Performance

Following the correction, 1,794,821 candidates — representing 91.14 per cent — obtained credit and above in at least five subjects (with or without English and Mathematics). More notably, 1,239,884 candidates, or 62.96 per cent, achieved five credits including English and Mathematics — a major improvement from the previously reported 38.32 per cent.

Of this number, 657,819 (53.05 per cent) were female, while 582,065 (46.95 per cent) were male. Despite the upward adjustment, the performance still reflects a 9.16 per cent drop compared to the 72.12 per cent recorded in 2024.

A total of 1,969,313 candidates took the examination, including candidates from schools in Benin Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, and Equatorial Guinea that operate the Nigerian curriculum.

Special Needs and Outstanding Results

WAEC also accommodated 12,178 special needs candidates — including the visually impaired (112), hearing impaired (615), physically challenged (37), and spastic/mentally challenged (52) — whose results have been processed and released.

While 1,763,470 candidates (89.55 per cent) have had their results fully processed, 205,916 candidates (10.45 per cent) still have one or more subjects pending due to technical issues. WAEC assured stakeholders that efforts are underway to conclude processing and release the outstanding results soon.

Meanwhile, results of 191,053 candidates (9.7 per cent) remain withheld over allegations of examination malpractice — a reduction from the 11.92 per cent recorded in 2024. Investigations are ongoing, and affected candidates may seek redress through the council’s official complaints platform.

Access and State Government Debt Issues

Candidates can check their results on http://www.waecdirect.org and apply for their digital certificates, which will be available within 48 hours of verification. Hard copy certificates will be issued within 90 days.

However, WAEC maintained that candidates sponsored by state governments with outstanding debts to the council will not be able to access their results until payments are made.

“We appeal to the concerned authorities to do the needful to enable affected schools and candidates to access their results,” Dangut urged.

Public Apology and Assurance

In a closing note, Dangut extended a heartfelt apology to candidates, parents, educators, and education stakeholders nationwide.

“We acknowledge the emotional ordeal that candidates, parents, teachers, school administrators, Ministries of Education, and the media must have endured. This is a trying time for us at WAEC, and we are doing everything possible to ensure this dismal situation does not recur,” he said.

WAEC expressed appreciation to the Federal Government, the Minister of Education, and various state education bodies for their support during the review and resolution process, pledging to restore public confidence in its examination system.

Akahi News – 08038644328