Stakeholders in the education sector have again criticised the West African Examinations Council over the sudden change of the recently released 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination results.
The stakeholders, who spoke in separate interviews in Abuja, are demanding independent investigations into the matter and an overhaul of the council’s management team.
They contended that subjecting WASSCE, a standardised evaluation for secondary school leavers and a basic requirement for tertiary institution admissions, to “trial and error” is unacceptable.
According to them, inconsistencies in such high-stakes examinations could damage the credibility of Nigeria’s academic qualifications, both locally and internationally.
WAEC released the 2025 WASSCE results on July 4 and announced that only 38.32 percent of its 1,969,313 candidates secured credits in five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
The mass failure had attracted strong criticism, with parents and some groups calling for the cancellation of certain papers, especially English Language and Mathematics.
Subsequently, after the criticism, WAEC announced it had discovered technical glitches during an internal review and, as a result, temporarily withdrew access to the results.
Later, after addressing the issues, WAEC reopened its online results portal on Friday, and the pass rate was revised upward to 62.96 percent, effectively doubling the initial figure.
At a news conference in Lagos, following the updated results, WAEC stated that after reviewing the process, the new statistics indicated that a total of 1,239,884 of the 1,969,313 candidates, representing 62.96 per cent, now have five credits, including English and Mathematics.
WAEC linked the initial discrepancies to “serialisation issues” in subjects such as Mathematics, English, Biology, and Economics. As a result of these revisions, reactions were sparked among stakeholders, including candidates, parents, and teachers.
The founder of Exam Ethics Marshall International, Ike Onyechere, questioned the credibility and integrity of WAEC’s assessment system in Nigeria. Mr Onyechere called the development “a national disaster,” accusing WAEC of “damaging the education process.”
Mr Onyechere called on the Federal Ministry of Education, the presidency, and the National Assembly to launch an urgent investigation into the matter, insisting that those at the helm of affairs in WAEC should be reshuffled.
Mr Onyechere rejected WAEC’s technical explanation, saying it ignored deeper administrative failures.
Further commenting on the situation, a teacher, Oluwaseun Omotubora, stated that the mass failure recorded in the earlier results reflected the manner in which the examinations were conducted.
Ms Omotubora said systemic failures caused exams to be written at midnight using torchlight, making it unlikely for students to perform better. She said a responsible exam body should have recalled and reviewed answer sheets after noticing mass failure, before releasing results.
She said WAEC should have called for new exams in affected subjects instead of undermining the process’s integrity.
Similarly, a parent, Ifeoluwa Atteh, called for an independent investigation to determine whether candidates unfairly failed or passed in either of the two results released.
Ms Atteh urged caution, calling for deeper analysis to ensure results reflect true learning, not just adjustments.
She called for thorough investigations to verify the authenticity of the newly released results.
In addition to these views, another parent, Nathaniel Adamu, attributed the glitches purported by WAEC to low investments in the education budget.
Mr Adamu noted that with better education funding, all exam bodies could conduct credible exams. He said proper funding would curb malpractice and equip exam bodies with the needed resources. He urged all levels of government to make deliberate efforts to revive education.
Chidinma Nwafor, a parent and teacher, stated that WAEC’s inconsistent handling of results has damaged its credibility. Ms Nwafor said that public pressure following the earlier results prompted a review, making the new results questionable.
Meanwhile, according to some candidates, in the earlier results released by WAEC, they scored D7 in either English or Mathematics, but in the new results, they got credit in both two subjects.
Several also noted their initial low scores in English and Mathematics, which were subsequently improved in the updated results. They acknowledged that the new scores eased their earlier concerns of failing key subjects.
They said the reviewed results have assuaged their earlier frustration of clearing other subjects, but failed in two compulsory subjects- Mathematics and English Language.
Chisom Jonah, who sat for the examinations in a public school in Abuja, said her score in English Language was reviewed from D7 to C6.
“I cleared all the subjects I sat for, except the English Language, which had been reviewed now. I am excited about the new results because I can now pursue my university admission. I scored 230 in JAMB, and I applied for Mass Communication in a Federal University,” she said.
Another candidate, Favour Akindele, said her Mathematics was reviewed from D7 to C4 in the results newly uploaded by WAEC.
While expressing excitement about the review, Akindele raised the concern that such inconsistency could create a credibility problem for the examination body.
(NAN)
