Lagos, Nigeria – The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) don finally release the reviewed results for the 2025 WASSCE. But wahala no finish, as dem find serious errors for grading wey gree scatter candidates’ performance statistics.
For one press briefing wey happen on Friday wey dem hold for Yaba, Lagos, Dr. Amos Dangut, wey be the Head of WAEC Nigeria, no fit hide im shame as e admit say dem mess up for marking dem serialised papers. Na wa! E talk say, “With deep sorrow and regret, I, on behalf of the Registrar to Council, Management and Staff of WAEC Nigeria, apologise for the discrepancies discovered in the grading of serialised papers.” (Better make we hear am, right?)
So wetin happen? According to am, dem try implement new security innovation wey dem call paper serialisation, wey don dey work for other exam bodies. But shock on the matter be say, during the post-exam review, dem come realize say dem dey use wrong keys to score the English Language Objective Test (Paper 3). Omo, dat one be serious gbege!
Dr. Dangut clear am say dem investigate the matter, come find out say na serialised code file wey dem print on top dem papers cause the wahala. “The English Language Objective paper was marked with incorrect answer keys.” But no be all wahala; candidates wey write exam using computer-based test no dey affected.
After dem correct the error, big news be say 1,794,821 candidates, wey be 91.14 percent, get credit and above for at least five subjects. Na who go fit keep calm after dat kind good news? But no forget, say dis figure still represent 62.96 percent wey get five credits including English and Mathematics, which na big improvement from the 38.32 percent wey dem chop before. Female candidates still dey shine for dis one, as 657,819 girls (53.05 percent) rule while boys stand behind with 582,065 (46.95 percent).
But no be all jolly jolly, oh. Dis new result still reflect 9.16 percent drop from the 2024 performance wey dem report as 72.12 percent. Meanwhile, over 1,969,313 candidates don sit for the exam, even schools wey dey for Benin Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, and Equatorial Guinea wey dey follow Nigerian curriculum join the mix. Na wetin dem no go fit leave out, abi?
WAEC no forget to carry special needs candidates along; dem cater for 12,178 of dem including visually impaired, hearing impaired, and physically challenged candidates. WAEC dey assure say dem don process dem results too, even for them.
But dem still get pending cases for 205,916 candidates, 10.45 percent, wey get one or more subjects wey still dey under process due to technical wahala. WAEC dey do the work to complete the processing ASAP. Make dem no forget say 191,053 candidates (9.7 percent) get dem results withheld due to exam malpractice wahala. This one don reduce small from 11.92 percent wey dem report in 2024. WAEC don talk say dem go continue to sanction anybody wey no follow the exam rules.
For dem wey wan collect dem results, WAEC don drop message say make dem visit the official portal www.waecdirect.org, wey dey help handle any matter with certificate collection. E good to be updated, no be so?
Dr. Dangut don express him apology again to stakeholders, “We acknowledge the emotional ordeal that candidates, parents, teachers, and the media must have endured.” E no easy for anybody. WAEC also thank Federal Government and other education bodies for dem support. At the end, dis odyssey no dey small, but dem dey try to make sure say dem no go face such serious gbege again in future.
