WASSCE 2025: Only 38.32% pass English, Mathematics with five credits

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The West African Examinations Council revealed a sharp decline in performance compared to the previous year, following the release of the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination results for school candidates.

Out of a total of 1,969,313 candidates who sat the examination across 23,554 schools, only 754,545 candidates — representing 38.32 per cent — obtained a minimum of five credits, including English Language and Mathematics. This marks a significant 33.8 per cent drop from the 72.12 per cent recorded in 2024.

Speaking at a press briefing on Monday, August 4, 2025, at WAEC’s national headquarters in Yaba, Lagos, the Head of Nigeria National Office, Dr Amos Dangut, attributed the drop in performance to the Council’s new approach of serialising objective test papers in key subjects such as English, Mathematics, Biology, and Economics.

“This approach drastically reduced the incidence of collusion and made examination malpractice more difficult. We observed a dip in the performance of objective papers, but essay papers remained consistent with previous years. It’s a strong signal that candidates must rely on their own preparation,” Dangut said.

The examination was conducted between April 24 and June 20, 2025, while coordination and marking took place from July 3 to 21. WAEC also deployed a real-time digital scoring system to enhance the speed and accuracy of result processing.

Of the total candidates, 1,517,517 (77.06 per cent) had their results fully processed and released, while 451,796 (22.94 per cent) are still being processed due to technical issues, which WAEC assured would be resolved in the coming days.

On examination malpractice, 192,089 results — representing 9.75 per cent — are currently being withheld for offenses including the use of banned mobile phones and collusion. This is a slight improvement from the 11.92 per cent withheld in 2024.

“These unscrupulous elements have become a thorn in the Council’s flesh. Some even use our name to distribute fake messages. We’ve apprehended some of them, and appropriate sanctions will be applied,” Dangut stated.

He also noted that states owing WAEC would not be able to access the results of their sponsored candidates until outstanding debts are cleared.

Meanwhile, 12,178 candidates with special needs registered for the 2025 WASSCE. Of these, 112 were visually impaired, 615 had hearing challenges, 52 were mentally challenged, and 37 had physical disabilities. WAEC confirmed that all were provided with the necessary support.

On gender distribution, 976,787 candidates (49.60%) were male, while 992,526 (50.40%) were female.

Of the 754,545 who passed with five credits including English and Maths, females outperformed males — accounting for 53.99 per cent (407,353) of the successful candidates, while males made up 46.01 per cent (347,192).

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This year’s exam also marked a significant milestone as WAEC allowed candidates to choose between the traditional paper-and-pencil format and a computer-based test (CBT) option — part of the Council’s move toward full digitisation by 2026.

“This year’s exam placed us as a foremost examining body to have conducted an achievement test using a computer-based format,” Dangut said.

The results were officially released on Monday via WAEC’s X handle. Candidates have been directed to access their results by visiting http://waecdirect.org.