By Ali Elias
As reported by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has released the results of the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates, with 192,089 results withheld over alleged cases of malpractice.
At a news conference in Lagos on Monday, Dr Amos Dangut, Head of the Nigeria National Office of WAEC, said the withheld results represented 9.75 per cent of the total number of candidates — a slight improvement compared to 11.92 per cent in 2024.
Despite the marginal decline in malpractice cases, Dangut expressed concern over the persistent use of mobile phones in examination halls and the rise of organised cheating in certain schools. He disclosed that investigations were ongoing, with final decisions to be made by the council’s appropriate committee.
“Affected candidates will be notified through their schools once the committee concludes its review,” he said, adding that dissatisfied candidates could lodge complaints online.
WAEC reiterated its zero-tolerance stance on examination malpractice, warning that schools, teachers, supervisors, and students involved were undermining the nation’s educational system. Dangut urged all stakeholders to work together to restore integrity to public examinations.
He assured that results were being uploaded to the council’s official website ([www.waecdirect.org](http://www.waecdirect.org)) and would be fully accessible within 12 hours. Candidates who had cleared all financial obligations could check their results using the PIN and serial number from their smart ID cards.
WAEC also encouraged candidates to apply for their digital certificates, which will be available 48 hours after checking results, while hard copies would be ready within 90 days. However, candidates sponsored by indebted state governments would not have access to their results until the debts were settled.
2025 WASSCE in Figures
According to WAEC, 1,973,365 candidates registered for the examination from 23,554 secondary schools in Nigeria, with 1,969,313 sitting for the test. The examination was also held in Nigerian-curriculum schools in Benin Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, and Equatorial Guinea.
A total of 12,178 candidates with special needs participated, including 112 visually impaired, 615 with hearing impairments, 52 with cognitive challenges, and 37 physically challenged. All were provided adequate support.
Out of all candidates, 1,517,517 (77.06 per cent) had their results fully processed and released, while 451,796 (22.94 per cent) were still being processed due to technical issues. WAEC said efforts were underway to resolve these quickly.
The performance analysis showed that 1,718,090 candidates (87.24 per cent) obtained at least five credits in any subjects, while 754,545 (38.32 per cent) secured five credits including English and Mathematics. However, this represented a 33.8 per cent drop in the proportion of candidates achieving the benchmark compared to 2024. Of those who met the requirement, 46.01 per cent were male and 53.99 per cent female.