WAEC Grading Scandal: What Students Must Know

The embarrassing differences between the preliminary and revised results of the 2025 WASSCE published by WAEC have revealed the limitations of the regional examination body in implementing innovations to achieve optimal examination outcomes. Consequently, WAEC needs to raise its standards.

After JAMB’s technical issue with the 2025 UTME results earlier this year, this latest “glitch” further underscores that the nation’s two examination authorities, responsible for pupils’ school certificates and higher education admissions, have yet to master examination administration.

These avoidable mistakes bring up serious doubts regarding their ability to manage innovations such as CBT, which they expect students to adapt to. Thus, WAEC must take the lead in effectively using technology for examinations to ensure satisfactory results.

The initial results released by WAEC indicated that 38.32 percent of the 1,969,313 candidates who participated in the examination achieved credits and above in five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.

As students, parents, and other stakeholders voiced their anger over the results deemed the worst in the last decade, WAEC announced the suspension of its results portal, indicating it had detected a technical error in the results released.

Once the glitch was resolved and the results were reviewed, the examination body issued an updated version indicating that 62.96 percent, or 1,239,884 candidates, obtained five credits, including English and mathematics, in contrast to the original 38.32 percent. This marks a significant improvement of 24.64 percentage points from the first figure.

Despite this improvement, the 62.96 percent pass rate still falls short of the impressive performance levels maintained over the past four years (2021-2024), during which pass rates consistently surpassed 70 percent. It also undermines the continuous upward trend that has been evident in recent years.

In fact, the enhanced results fall within the range of 52.97 percent in 2016, 59.22 percent in 2017, 48.15 percent in 2018, 64.18 percent in 2019, and 65.24 percent in 2020. By this standard, the new result ranks third in the inconsistent outcomes observed from 2015 to 2020.

The Head of the National Office at WAEC, Nigeria, Amos Dangut, stated, “We investigated and found that a serialized code file was incorrectly used in the printing of the English Language Objective paper. This led to the papers being marked with faulty answer keys.” This explanation is simply unacceptable.

In terms of adopting and implementing innovations, WAEC has not succeeded. In addition to the glitch, WAEC forced students to take the exam at unusual hours. The English Language Objective Paper III was administered from 9 pm to 11 pm in some areas due to a leak in the examination.

While WAEC’s swift admission and rectification of the errors are praiseworthy, these qualities cannot replace a lack of competence. The examination body must exhibit thoroughness and professionalism and avoid unnecessary mistakes that could risk students’ futures and tarnish its reputation and that of the country.

Examination administration is not rigid. After all, other participating nations did not encounter this level of ineptitude.

The implementation of innovations signifies the beginning of a new phase in the School Certificate Examination, which rewards diligence. The stakeholders, such as parents, teachers, and students, must acknowledge this reality.

Students must understand that with the introduction of the serialization of objective papers in essential subjects and CBT, the era of examination malpractice is gradually coming to a close.

The unacceptable inconsistencies in student performance in WASSCE over the past decade and the disruption of the consistent high performance seen in the previous four years indicate that all stakeholders should accord education the attention it deserves.

State governments ought to prioritize education by hiring more teachers, offering fair salaries, and adequately funding educational infrastructure.