The performance of Nigerian students in the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) has fallen to its lowest in a decade, raising red flags about the country’s education system.
Out of 1,969,313 candidates who sat for the exam across 23,554 secondary schools nationwide, only 754,545 candidates (38.32%) obtained at least five credits including English Language and Mathematics, according to data released on Monday by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).
This marks a dramatic decline from the 72.12% credit pass rate recorded in 2024 and represents the worst performance since 2014, when only 31.28% achieved the benchmark.
Anti-Malpractice Reforms
WAEC attributed the poor performance to a recent policy shift that serialised objective papers in key subjects like Mathematics, English, Biology, and Economics to curb exam malpractice.
“We observed a dip in the performance of objective papers, but essay papers remained consistent with previous years,” said Amos Dangut, WAEC’s Head of National Office. “It’s a strong signal that candidates must rely on their own preparation.”
Nigeria’s WASSCE performance has fluctuated over the years and malpractice has been a problem, contributing to past impressive performance.
Below are the percentage of candidates who scored credit and above in at least five subjects, including Mathematics and English Language since 2014:
- 2014: 31.28%
- 2016: 52.97%
- 2017: 59.22%
- 2018: 50.00%
- 2019: 64.18%
- 2020: 65.24%
- 2021: 81.70%
- 2022: 76.36%
- 2023: 79.81%
- 2024: 72.12%
- 2025: 38.32%
How to Check Your 2025 WAEC Result
Students can access their WASSCE results via multiple channels:
- Online via WAEC Portal
- Visit org
- Input your WAEC Examination Number
- Select Year: 2025
- Choose Exam Type (e.g., School Candidate)
- Input PIN and Serial Number from your scratch card
- Click “Submit” to view results
- Via SMS
- Text in this format: WAECExamNoPINExamYear (e.g., WAEC123456789012345678902025)
- Send to 32327
- Costs N30; available on MTN, Glo, Airtel
- Via Mobile App
- Download WAEC Result Checker app on Google Play or App Store
- Enter details as prompted
- View your results
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