The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has reported a significant decline in candidate performance in the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates, compared to the previous year. Out of 1,969,313 candidates from 23,554 schools who took the exam, only 754,545, representing 38.32%, achieved a minimum of five credits, including English Language and Mathematics. This reflects a sharp 33.8% drop from the 72.12% recorded in 2024.
During a press briefing held on Monday, August 4, 2025, at WAEC’s national headquarters in Yaba, Lagos, Dr. Amos Dangut, Head of the Nigeria National Office, attributed the decline to the Council’s newly implemented strategy of serializing objective test questions in major subjects such as English, Mathematics, Biology, and Economics.
According to Dr. Dangut, this method significantly curbed examination malpractice and reduced cases of answer collusion. “We noticed a dip in performance in the objective sections, while essay responses remained consistent with past years. This sends a clear message that students must now rely more heavily on thorough preparation,” he stated.
He further mentioned that states with outstanding debts to WAEC would be unable to access the results of their sponsored candidates until payments are made. The 2025 results information was officially released on WAEC’s X (formerly Twitter) account, and candidates have been advised to check their results at [http://waecdirect.org](http://waecdirect.org).