The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has announced a major revision to the 2025 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) results, significantly increasing the number of students who passed.
Following a review, WAEC revealed that 1,239,884 candidates representing 62.9% of the 1,969,313 students who sat for the exam have now obtained credit passes in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics. This marks a sharp rise from the initial 38.32% (754,545 candidates) previously reported.
WAEC explained that the change resulted from the correction of errors found in the marking of serialized objective questions, which had affected the original results.
Earlier, only 38.32% of candidates were said to have achieved credit-level passes in both English and Maths, a requirement for university admission in Nigeria.
The initial mass failure drew criticism from parents and educators, many of whom pointed to logistical failures during the exams. Some candidates reportedly sat for the English Language paper late at night, under poor conditions.
One concerned parent, Adegoke Bimpe Atoke, posted on the Concerned Parents and Educators Network (CPE) platform.
“Almighty WAEC has done it again. The pregnancy of a few months ago has finally given birth. Mass failure in Mathematics and English. 450-word essays written with a phone torchlight at 10:30 p.m., in the rain, with candidates swatting mosquitoes. How did we get here?
Our systems need drastic, strategic, urgent reforms. I can’t even eat. I’ve lost my appetite. If WAEC is no longer working, can we find something better that suits our national context?”
The initial release sparked calls from parents and advocacy groups for the cancellation of the English Language paper and a formal investigation into the examination process.
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