The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) on Monday released the results of the 2025 May/June West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in Lagos.
This school-based examination, conducted over eight weeks and one day, was mired in controversy as many Nigerians called for the cancellation of the English Language paper, in particular, after numerous candidates were forced to write the exam at night due to delays.
A total of 1,969,313 candidates sat for the examination, but only 754,545 (representing 38.32 percent) obtained credits and above in at least five mandatory subjects, including English Language and Mathematics. This represents a sharp drop of 33.8 percent from last year’s pass rate of 72.12 percent, making it the worst performance in recent history for this WAEC-conducted school exam.
Of the total candidates, 976,787 (49.60 percent) were male, while 992,526 (50.40 percent) were female—indicating that more females participated in the exam.
WAEC also announced that candidates sponsored by state governments whose examination fees remain unpaid will not have their results released until the outstanding fees are fully settled by their sponsors.
Meanwhile, candidates can begin checking their results online within the next 12 hours and download digital copies of their certificates via the council’s website. Physical copies of the certificates will also be sent to the respective schools at a later date.
The Head of the National Office of WAEC Nigeria, Dr Amos Dangut, made this announcement and provided key statistics at a press briefing held at the council’s national office in Yaba, Lagos.
In addition, WAEC disclosed that the results of 192,089 candidates (representing 9.75 percent of the total) are being withheld due to various cases of exam malpractice. These cases are currently under investigation to determine whether the affected results will be released or cancelled. This malpractice rate is 2.17 percent lower than last year’s 11.92 percent, a decline largely attributed to the introduction of Computer-Based Testing (CBT) in some subjects, including English Language, Mathematics, Biology, and Economics.
Dr Dangut also noted that the cost of conducting both school-based and private candidate exams has risen significantly, primarily due to inflation, high fuel prices, and increased cost of materials.
While expressing concern over the decline in candidate performance, Dangut highlighted the growing incidence of exam malpractice, which he attributed to multiple factors. According to him, many students now fail to adequately prepare, relying instead on so-called “expo,” which often does not exist, and on the actions of rogue website operators and social media platform owners who leak question papers online shortly after the commencement of exams. He also decried the use of mobile phones in exam halls, despite a strict ban on such devices.
He assured that WAEC would continue to sanction all cases of malpractice, including those involving schools, administrators, invigilators, and supervisors, to rid the system of sharp practices.
Dangut confirmed that the results of all 12,178 candidates with special needs—including 112 visually impaired, 615 hearing impaired, 37 physically challenged, and 52 others—have been released alongside the general results.
He reiterated that candidates could check their results by visiting www.waecdirect.org and access their digital certificates on www.waec.org using the Smart Identity Cards they used during the exams. He explained that candidates can also share their digital certificates online with institutions and have them verified by any organization using the same platform.
