WAEC Shock: 61.68% of students fail Maths, English in 2025 WASSCE
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has announced a sharp decline in student performance in the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), with only 38.32 per cent of candidates securing five credits, including English Language and Mathematics, the benchmark for university admission.
This figure marks a significant 33.8 per cent drop compared to the 72.12 per cent pass rate recorded in 2024, sparking widespread concern over what many are describing as a mass failure.
WAEC’s Head of National Office, Dr Amos Dangut, disclosed the statistics on Monday at a press briefing held at the Council’s headquarters in Yaba, Lagos.
Despite the grim outcome, he described the conduct of the examination as a “huge success,” noting that the exercise proceeded smoothly despite several logistical and operational challenges.
According to WAEC, 1,969,313 candidates from 23,554 schools across the country sat for the exam. Out of this figure, 754,545 candidates obtained a minimum of five credits including English and Mathematics.
Dangut attributed the steep decline in performance to the Council’s decision to serialise objective test papers in key subjects such as Mathematics, English, Biology, and Economics — a method aimed at curbing malpractice.
“This approach drastically reduced the incidence of collusion and made examination malpractice more difficult,” he explained.
“We observed a dip in the performance of objective papers, but the essay components remained consistent with previous years. It’s a strong signal that candidates must rely on their own preparation.”
The examination was conducted between April 24 and June 20, 2025, while marking and coordination took place from July 3 to 21.
For the first time, WAEC deployed a real-time digital scoring system, which enhanced both speed and accuracy in the processing of results.
However, not all candidates received their results immediately. While 1,517,517 candidates (77.06 per cent) had their results fully released, 451,796 (22.94 per cent) are still awaiting complete results due to technical issues, which the Council said would be resolved shortly.
In terms of examination malpractice, 192,089 results, representing 9.75 per cent of candidates, are currently withheld for offences ranging from the use of mobile phones in exam halls to collusion. This shows a marginal improvement from the 11.92 per cent recorded in 2024.
Dangut also issued a stern warning to rogue website operators and compromised supervisors who attempt to facilitate cheating, adding that several arrests had already been made and sanctions are underway.
He further announced that defaulting states owing WAEC would be denied access to the results of their sponsored candidates until outstanding debts are cleared.
This year’s exam also included 12,178 special needs candidates, among whom 112 were visually impaired, 615 had hearing challenges, 52 were spastic or mentally challenged, and 37 had physical disabilities. All were supported with appropriate accommodations.
On gender distribution, female candidates (992,526 or 50.40 per cent) slightly outnumbered male candidates (976,787 or 49.60 per cent).
Among those who passed with five credits including English and Maths, female also performed better, accounting for 53.99 per cent (407,353) compared to 46.01 per cent (347,192) for male.
