The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has officially released the results of the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates.
In a public update shared via their official X (formerly Twitter) account on Monday, August 4, 2025, WAEC announced that students who sat the examination can now access their results online through the Council’s dedicated result-checking portal.
“Candidates who took part in the 2025 WASSCE for School Candidates are hereby informed that their results have been released,†the announcement read. Students can visit waecdirect.org to view their individual performance reports.
Speaking during a press briefing at the WAEC national office in Yaba, Lagos, the Head of the Nigeria National Office, Dr. Amos Dangut, described the conduct of this year’s exam as highly successful, despite facing some logistical challenges.
According to WAEC’s data, a total of 1,969,313 candidates participated in the examination across 23,554 secondary schools. Of these, 754,545 students managed to secure at least five credits, including Mathematics and English Language — accounting for 38.32% of all candidates. This marks a significant drop compared to the 72.12% pass rate recorded in 2024.
Dr. Dangut attributed the decline to the introduction of serialized objective test papers across core subjects like English, Mathematics, Biology, and Economics. This new strategy was designed to tackle widespread exam malpractice by making collusion more difficult.
“We saw a noticeable dip in performance on multiple-choice sections,†he said. “However, results in essay-based papers remained stable, indicating that only genuinely prepared candidates performed well.â€
Table of Contents
Exam Highlights and Performance Breakdown
- Examination period: April 24 – June 20, 2025
- Marking and coordination: July 3 – July 21
- Real-time digital scoring was used for faster and more accurate result compilation
- 77.06% of candidates (1,517,517) received their complete results
- 22.94% (451,796 candidates) are still awaiting full release due to technical delays, which WAEC said would be resolved soon
WAEC also reported that 192,089 candidates had their results withheld over various forms of examination misconduct, including the use of banned devices and collusion. This represents 9.75% of total candidates — a slight improvement from 11.92% in 2024.
Authorities warned individuals operating rogue websites and certain compromised supervisors to desist from activities that aid exam fraud. Dr. Dangut emphasized that WAEC is cracking down on fraudulent actors impersonating the Council and circulating fake updates.
He also noted that states with outstanding debts to the Council will not be able to access their sponsored candidates’ results until those debts are cleared.
Special Needs and Gender Participation
WAEC revealed that 12,178 candidates with special needs were registered for the exam. These included:
- 112 visually impaired students
- 615 with hearing impairments
- 52 with cognitive disabilities
- 37 with physical impairments
All special needs candidates were provided with the necessary accommodations during the examination.
Regarding gender distribution, female candidates slightly outnumbered their male counterparts.
- Females: 992,526 (50.40%)
- Males: 976,787 (49.60%)
Among those who passed with at least five credits including English and Maths:
- 53.99% (407,353) were female
- 46.01% (347,192) were male
WAEC Begins Shift to Computer-Based Exams
The 2025 WASSCE also marked a significant milestone in WAEC’s digital transformation journey. For the first time, candidates were given the option to sit for the exams using a Computer-Based Testing (CBT) format, a move that places WAEC among the few examining bodies in Africa to pilot such an initiative for school candidates.
Dr. Dangut confirmed that full digitization of WAEC exams is on track to be implemented by 2026, following the model currently used for private candidates in the CB-WASSCE Second Series.
“This transition will not only modernize our processes but also promote greater integrity and efficiency in the conduct of future exams,†he stated.