The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) is facing intense scrutiny following a dramatic revision of its recently released 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results.
The initial results, published on July 4th, revealed a shockingly low pass rate of 38.32% among 1,969,313 candidates.
This sparked immediate public outcry and calls for the cancellation of several papers, especially English and Mathematics.
WAEC attributed the initial low pass rate to unspecified “technical glitches,” temporarily suspending access to the results.
However, upon reinstatement on August 10th, the pass rate had inexplicably soared to 62.96%, nearly doubling the original figure.
This drastic change ignited criticism, with stakeholders including parents, teachers, and educational advocacy groups demanding a full and independent investigation into WAEC’s procedures and management.
Serious concerns
Ike Onyechere, Founder of Exam Ethics Marshall International, called the situation a “national disaster,” expressing serious concerns about the credibility of Nigerian academic qualifications.
He questioned the integrity of the process, stating, “You cannot make such a serious examination a subject of trial and error. Today, the pass rate is 38 percent; tomorrow, it becomes 63 percent. How are we supposed to trust the authenticity of these results?”
Parents are demanding an investigation to determine whether students were unfairly penalised or unjustly awarded higher grades.
Nathaniel Adamu, a parent, urged all levels of government to prioritise a comprehensive revitalisation of the education sector.
Lateefah Ibrahim