Massive Drop in WAEC 2025 Performance as Only 38.32% Pass with English and Maths
WAEC has officially released the 2025 WASSCE results for school candidates, with some major developments that can’t be ignored. A total of 1,969,313 students sat for the exams between April and June, out of the 1,973,365 who registered across over 23,000 secondary schools in Nigeria. The exam also ran in Nigerian-curriculum schools in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, and Equatorial Guinea.
Here is the percentage: only 38.32% of candidates scored credits in five subjects including English and Maths. That’s just 754,545 students. Compare that to last year’s 72.12%, and we’re looking at a serious 33.8 percentage point drop. According to WAEC’s Head of Nigeria Office, Amos Dangut, this sharp decline may be the result of tighter exam monitoring and efforts to reduce malpractice.
Speaking at a press briefing in Lagos, Mr. Dangut explained that new strategies like the serialisation of objective test questions in key subjects such as English, Maths, Biology, and Economics made it harder for students to cheat. He confirmed that 1,718,090 candidates still managed to secure credit and above in at least five subjects, with or without English and Maths.
Of the total candidates, 976,787 were male and 992,526 were female just about evenly split. There were also 12,178 special needs candidates, including those with visual and hearing impairments, mental health conditions, and physical challenges. WAEC says their results have been processed and released like everyone else’s.
As it stands, 77.06% of the results roughly 1.5 million have been fully processed. However, 451,796 candidates still have one or more subjects pending due to technical or procedural issues. WAEC says these will be resolved in the coming days.
That said, 262,803 candidates’ results are currently being withheld over alleged exam malpractice. Investigations are ongoing, and final decisions will be made by the Nigeria Examinations Committee (NEC).
WAEC didn’t hold back on fraud warnings either. Mr. Dangut cautioned candidates, parents, and schools to stay alert and avoid fake websites posing as WAEC platforms. He said these scammers take advantage of anxious students and desperate parents, turning exam season into a money-making scheme.
He also mentioned that some supervisors and invigilators were caught helping students cheat during the exam. Those found guilty, he said, will face sanctions through NEC in partnership with the States’ Ministries of Education.
WAEC also faced its fair share of operational hurdles, some exam papers were delayed in certain areas, and late registration along with failure to upload students’ Continuous Assessment Scores (CASS) put unnecessary pressure on the system. Mr. Dangut described this delay as one of the council’s biggest challenges this year.
