Only 38.32 per cent of the 1,973,365 candidates who wrote the May/June 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) obtained five credits, including English Language and Mathematics.

The implication is that 1,218,820 candidates failed to obtain five credits, including English Language and Mathematics, and this may affect their admission chances.

The examination was also administered to candidates from some schools in the Benin Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, and Equatorial Guinea, where the Nigerian curriculum for senior secondary schools is being used.

Announcing the results of the school exam in Lagos, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) Head of National Office (HNO), Dr Amos Dangut, said 754,545 candidates, representing 38.32%, obtained credits and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.

He said, “The analysis of statistics of candidates’ performance in the examination shows that out of the 1,969,313 candidates that sat for the examination, 1,718,090 candidates, representing 87.24%, obtained credit and above in a minimum of any five subjects with or without English Language and/or Mathematics.”

According to him, 347,192, representing 46.01%, were male candidates, while 407,353, representing 53.99%, were female candidates.

He said a comparison of the percentage of candidates in this category in WASSCE for school 2024 and 2025 reveals that in 2025 WASSCE, there is a 33.8% decrease in performance; that is, those who obtained credit and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics, was 72.12%.

The HNO said 12,178 candidates with varying degrees of special needs sat for the examination, and out of this number, 615 had impaired hearing, 52 were spastic-cum-mentally challenged, and 37 were physically challenged.

“All these candidates were adequately provided for in the administration of the examination. The results of these candidates have been processed and are also now being released along with those of other candidates,” he stated.

Dangut disclosed that the results of 192,089 candidates, representing 9.75% of the total number of candidates that sat the examination, are being withheld in connection with various reported cases of examination malpractice, and the figure is 2.17% lower than the 11.92% recorded in the WASSCE for school candidates, 2024.

He added: “The increasing use of mobile phones in the examination hall, in spite of the existing ban, and organised cheating in some schools, are other nagging issues. All the cases are being investigated, and reports of the investigations will be presented to the appropriate Committee of the Council for consideration and final decisions.

“The committee’s decisions will be communicated to the affected candidates through their various schools in due course. Candidates affected by these decisions can now call for redress of their malpractice cases if they so wish.”

He explained that the council would continue to sanction cases of examination malpractice, as schools, supervisors, teachers, and candidates perpetrating this evil are not helping the educational system.

The HNO stressed that as WASSCE for school candidates 2025 results are being uploaded on the results website, candidates, after checking the result online, apply for their digital certificate, which will be released 48 hours thereafter.

“Candidates who have fulfilled their financial obligations to the council can access their results on the council’s results website: www.waecdirect.org, within the next twelve hours. Copies of the result listing will be sent to schools shortly,” Dangut said.

The WAEC boss said the coordination of examiners and marking of candidates’ scripts took place from July 3 to July 21, 2025, while 87,499 examiners and 2,706 e-examiners participated in the coordination and marking exercise.