The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has announced that only 754,545 candidates, representing 38.32% of the total 1,969,313 who sat for the 2025 May/June WASSCE, obtained credits and above in at least five mandatory subjects including English Language and Mathematics.
This sharp decline in performance marks a 33.8% drop from the previous year’s 72.12% pass rate making it the lowest recorded in recent WAEC history for school-based examinations.
The dismal outcome follows widespread controversy surrounding the conduct of the examination, especially the English Language paper, which many candidates had to write late at night due to scheduling issues and delays. This led to public outcry and calls for the cancellation of the paper.
Despite the challenges, WAEC’s Head of National Office, Dr. Amos Dangut, confirmed during a press briefing in Lagos that the results are now available online, and digital certificates can be accessed via the council’s official platforms. However, the results of state-sponsored candidates whose examination fees remain unpaid have been withheld pending payment by the relevant state governments.
Meanwhile, 192,089 results representing 9.75% of the total entries—are being withheld due to reported cases of exam malpractice. These are currently under investigation.
Dr. Dangut attributed the poor performance to several factors, including candidates’ over-reliance on leaked exam materials (“expo”), insufficient preparation, and the disruptive activities of rogue websites and social media channels. He also noted that the rising cost of conducting exams due to inflation, fuel prices, and material costs posed additional challenges this year.
He reiterated WAEC’s commitment to improving exam integrity while confirming that the results of all 12,178 special needs candidates were successfully processed and released.
