WAEC 2025 Errors Violate Students’ Rights— IHRC Raises Concern Over Exam Irregularities

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has been charged by Nigeria’s International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) with persistent violations of pupils’ right to an education.

Widespread anomalies, such as incorrect exam papers, sudden schedule changes, missing scripts, and delays, were reported by the commission as having caused serious hardship to candidates throughout West Africa.

The IHRC called WAEC’s recent apologies “insufficient and inadequate” in a letter to the Federal Ministry of Education, which was signed by its Country Representative, H.E. Ambassador Dr. Duru Hezekiah.

A thorough inquiry, institutional changes, and restitution for impacted students and institutions are among the demands made by the IHRC.

“We applaud WAEC for recognizing its shortcomings, but we must emphasize that regrets do not take the place of justice,” Dr. Duru said.

Concerning problems were found in an IHRC assessment called “Equity and Access in Regional Assessment: A Review of WAEC’s 2025 WASSCE Implementation.” These include increased exam-day anxiety brought on by last-minute modifications, inflated failure rates as a result of exam faults, financial losses for supervisors and schools, and widening gaps in academic performance.

The foundation of both national growth and human rights is education. Dr. Duru underlined that we must not let systemic shortcomings ruin our children’s dreams and prospects.

Concerns about the impact these failures are having on pupils’ mental health, academic achievement, and financial well-being have been raised by parents and educators. For thousands of children around the region, the inconsistencies pose a threat to their right to an education, the IHRC stated.

The commission encouraged the Education Minister to put in place safeguards to preclude a repeat, impose disciplinary actions against responsible officials, and launch an open, impartial investigation. Direct compensation and reparation for those impacted were also demanded.

The IHRC emphasized that this is a violation of the student’s right to a fair and equal evaluation, not merely an administrative error.

In order to protect students’ rights throughout West Africa, the commission urged cooperation between the Education Ministry and independent watchdogs. It cautioned that inaction would increase public mistrust in WAEC and compromise accountability in the region’s educational system.