Nigeria’s education system has been thrown into disarray after the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) discovered serious technical errors in its recently released 2025 WASSCE results. The exam body was forced to temporarily shut down its results portal on Thursday following reports of widespread grading mistakes affecting millions of Nigerian students.
Key Failures
- System Failure: Technical bugs corrupted results in key subjects including Mathematics, English, Biology and Economics
- Portal Shutdown: WAEC blocked access to results for 48 hours to fix errors
- Record Low Performance: Only 38% of 1.9 million candidates passed core subjects
- Digital Transition Worries: Glitches raise concerns about planned computer-based testing
WAEC has apologized and asked all 1.9 million candidates who wrote the exam to recheck their scores from Friday, admitting its quality checks failed to catch the errors before release. The crisis has sparked outrage from students, parents and teachers who say the mistakes could jeopardize university admissions and future opportunities.
Why This Matters
• Impacts 1.9M candidates’ university admissions
• Exposes flaws in Nigeria’s exam digitalization push
• Triggers calls for leadership overhaul at WAEC
Stakeholder Reactions
→ NAPTAN: “CBT transition impossible without computer literacy”
→ NANS: Demands WAEC boss’ resignation over “unforgivable failure”
→ Teachers: Warn of psychological trauma for affected students
What Next?
→ Friday Deadline: WAEC promises corrected results by today
→ Legal Threats: Parents consider lawsuits over academic setbacks
→ Policy Review: FG may intervene in CBT implementation plans
