The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) is facing intense criticism from education stakeholders over what they describe as “embarrassing” technical glitches in the recently released West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results.
In separate interviews with The Guardian, education advocates, parents, and school owners called for independent investigations, sanctions, and an overhaul of WAEC’s management structure.
They warned that repeated inconsistencies in such high-stakes examinations risk damaging the credibility of Nigeria’s academic qualifications both locally and internationally.
WAEC Under Fire Over Result Glitches
WAEC had on July 4 announced that only 38.32 per cent of its 1,969,313 candidates earned credits in five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics — a statistic that drew outrage from parents and civil society groups. Many demanded the cancellation of certain papers, especially English and Mathematics.
However, 48 hours later, the council admitted to “technical glitches” and withdrew access to the results. Following an internal review, WAEC revised the pass rate to 62.96 per cent, citing “serialisation issues” in Mathematics, English, Biology, and Economics.
The move sparked fresh questions about the integrity of Nigeria’s examination system.
“You cannot make such a serious examination a subject of trial and error. Today the pass rate is 38 per cent, tomorrow it becomes 63 per cent. How are we supposed to trust the authenticity of these results?” asked James Odion, Founder of the Education for All Initiative (EFAI).
Odion urged the Federal Ministry of Education the Presidency, and the National Assembly to investigate the matter, questioning if such irregularities occurred in other WAEC member states like Ghana, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia.
A concerned parent, Mrs Olaitan Adediran, stressed the need for deeper analysis to ensure the revised results reflect genuine learning improvements rather than “deliberate adjustments.” Another parent, Mr Adebayo Alao, blamed poor funding for the recurring issues, urging increased budgetary allocation to the education sector.
School proprietor Dr Joyce Etim added that the council’s credibility had been dented, saying the back-and-forth in result releases was unacceptable. “The public pressure that forced this review means the results cannot be trusted,” she said.
