The National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) has described the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results as the poorest in more than ten years, attributing the decline to inadequate teacher training, insufficient education funding, and poor learning conditions.
Speaking during a recent interview on Channels Television, NAPPS National President, Dr. Yomi Otubela, expressed deep concern over the performance of candidates. He noted that only about 38% of candidates obtained five credits, including English and Mathematics marking the lowest pass rate since 2015, when 39% was recorded.
“This is the worst performance in about 15 years,” Otubela stated, highlighting the need for urgent reforms. “We have not paid sufficient attention to capacity building for our teachers, and the national education budget still falls short of UNESCO’s recommended allocation.”
He identified poor infrastructure, limited access to digital learning tools, and overcrowded classrooms as major contributing factors. In many rural areas, he noted, students have little or no access to computers. “In some locations, there is just one computer to 100 students,” he said.
Otubela also shared concerns raised by school proprietors who believe the results do not accurately reflect their students’ capabilities. While urging schools to take advantage of WAEC’s provision for script review, he commended students who succeeded under difficult circumstances. “Children forced to sit for exams late into the night using candles or torches cannot be judged by the same standard,” he said.
Calling for a declaration of a “state of emergency” in the education sector, Otubela acknowledged the Minister of Education’s recent efforts to enforce stricter teacher registration policies via the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria. “We cannot continue to expect excellent outcomes when schools lack basic learning facilities,” he noted.
He also criticised the weak implementation of education policies, saying: “Our problem is not the absence of policy frameworks, but the failure to enforce them effectively and impartially.”
Responding to online lists allegedly naming schools involved in exam malpractice, Otubela clarified that WAEC had officially denied issuing any such lists. “Those lists are not authentic, and the public should disregard them,” he stated.
Meanwhile, WAEC confirmed that the 2025 WASSCE results remain available online despite initial delays on the day of release.
