In a dramatic turn for the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Nigeria, has announced the release of revised results for school candidates after uncovering a major grading error that significantly distorted performance statistics.
Speaking at a press briefing on Friday at WAEC’s national office in Yaba, Lagos, the Head of WAEC Nigeria, Dr. Amos Dangut, admitted to the blunder and offered an unreserved apology to students, parents, and schools.
“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. This is very difficult for us to say, but we must admit it is deeply embarrassing,” Dangut said.
The Root of the Problem
According to WAEC, the issue arose from a new security innovation called paper serialisation, already in use by another national exam body. During post-examination checks, it was discovered that the English Language Objective Test (Paper 3) had been marked with incorrect answer keys due to a wrongly assigned serialised code file.Other subjects affected by the serialisation process included Mathematics, Biology, and Economics. Candidates who took the exam via the computer-based mode were not affected.
What the Corrected Results Show
After correcting the error:1,794,821 candidates (91.14%) scored credit and above in at least five subjects (with or without English and Mathematics).1,239,884 candidates (62.96%) earned five credits including English and Mathematics, a massive jump from the previously reported 38.32%.
Female candidates accounted for 53.05% (657,819), while males made up 46.95% (582,065).However, the 2025 performance still fell short of the 72.12% success rate recorded in 2024 by 9.16%.
A total of 1,969,313 candidates sat for the exams, including students from Benin Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, and Equatorial Guinea following the Nigerian curriculum. WAEC also processed results for 12,178 special needs candidates — including the visually impaired, hearing impaired, and physically challenged.
Pending Results & Malpractice Cases
While 1,763,470 candidates (89.55%) have fully processed results, 205,916 (10.45%) still await one or more subjects due to technical delays. WAEC assured they will be released soon.
Meanwhile, results for 191,053 candidates (9.7%) have been withheld over examination malpractice allegations — lower than the 11.92% recorded last year. Investigations are ongoing, and affected candidates can seek redress via waecinternational.org/complaints.
Next Steps for Candidates
WAEC has urged candidates to:
Check results at www.waecdirect.org.
Apply for digital certificates (available within 48 hours of verification).
Expect hard copy certificates within 90 days.
However, candidates sponsored by indebted state governments will be unable to access results until payments are made.
A Final Word from WAEC
Dr. Dangut acknowledged the emotional toll on all involved:
“We understand the ordeal that candidates, parents, teachers, and stakeholders went through. This is a trying time for WAEC, and we are committed to ensuring such an error never happens again.”
WAEC also thanked the Federal Government, Minister of Education, and state education bodies for their support during the review process.
