Thousands of students who waited anxiously for their 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results, with excitement turned to shock this week when they found themselves locked out of the West African Examination Council’s (WAEC) results portal.
WAEC says the shutdown was necessary after internal checks revealed “technical glitches ” in its backend system. The glitches, discovered during a post-release review, affected results for subjects including Mathematics, English Language, Biology, and Economics, which are part of a new “paper serialisation” system aimed at curbing exam malpractice. The Head of Public Affairs at WAEC’s National Office, Moyosola Adesina, explained that the Council temporarily suspended access so it could correct the errors. Students who have already checked their results are being told to re-check from Friday for an updated version.
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“As part of our efforts to curb examination malpractice, the Council embarked on an innovation (paper serialisation) already deployed by a national examination body. It is also worth noting that this is in line with best practices in assessment. The paper serialisation was carried out in Mathematics, English Language, Biology, and Economics. However, an internal post-result release procedure revealed some technical bugs in the results,” the statement read.
The latest disappointment comes just days after WAEC declared that of the close to two million students who took the examination, only 38.32% were able to pass and get five credits, including English and Mathematics, the worst in a decade. The disclosure has caused major alarm among teachers, parents, and policymakers.
After the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) clarified how national examinations will be administered, the Nigeria Union of Teachers, the National Association of Parent-Teacher Associations of Nigeria (NAPTAN), and the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) have come out with their collective views.
Haruna Danjuma, the president of NAPTAN, admitted the challenges that exist but considered the suggestion that the West African Senior School Certificate Examination and the National Examinations Council examinations should be conducted exclusively via Computer-Based Testing (CBT) impractical.
On social media, Nigerians expressed deep scepticism about WAEC’s promise to fix the issue in 24 hours. For now, candidates and their parents are left in limbo, waiting, refreshing the portal, and hoping the “corrected” results will tell a better story. But the controversy has already raised bigger questions about Nigeria’s readiness for full digital examinations, the capacity of its institutions, and the cost of avoidable mistakes in an education system already under strain.
