WAEC Revises 2025 WASSCE Results, Raises Pass Rate from 38% to 63% in Five Core Subjects

A recent review by WAEC has led to significant changes in the 2025 WASSCE results, altering performance figures and prompting fresh instructions for candidates to verify their scores online.

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has revised the 2025 WASSCE results for school candidates in Nigeria, raising the percentage of students who obtained credits in at least five core subjects—including English Language and Mathematics—from 38.32% to 62.96%.

Dr. Amos Dangut, Head of WAEC’s Nigeria National Office, announced the revision on Friday, explaining that the improvement followed the discovery and correction of a grading error during an internal post-examination review.

According to him, the error—which did not affect candidates who took the Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode—was caused by the use of an incorrect serialised code file during the printing process. This impacted subjects such as Mathematics, English Language, Biology, and Economics.

Revised Performance Statistics
With the correction, 1,239,884 candidates—representing 62.96%—now have credits in at least five subjects, including English and Mathematics, compared to the earlier 38.32%.

A total of 1,794,821 candidates, or 91.14%, secured credits in at least five subjects with or without English and Mathematics. However, results for 191,053 candidates (9.7%) remain withheld over suspected cases of examination malpractice, which are still under investigation.

Background to the Error
WAEC initially released the 2025 WASSCE results on August 4, reporting a sharp drop in performance compared to 2024. At the time, only 38.32% of candidates met the benchmark of five credits, including English and Mathematics—a 33.8% decline from the previous year.

DON’T MISS: WAEC Result Checker: Step-by-Step Guide for Checking 2025 WASSCE Results Online, SMS

Following complaints and a detailed review, WAEC identified the grading anomaly and initiated a nationwide correction to uphold transparency.

WAEC’s Apology and Next Steps
Dr. Dangut apologised for the distress caused to candidates, parents, and schools.

“We acknowledge the emotional ordeal that candidates, parents, teachers, school administrators, ministries of Education, the media, and other well-meaning stakeholders must have endured,” he said. “We are taking steps to ensure such a situation never recurs.”

Candidates have been urged to recheck their results via www.waecdirect.org, with digital certificates becoming available 48 hours after confirmation. WAEC also appealed to state governments owing the Council to clear their debts so affected students’ results can be released.