WAEC attributes decline in candidates' performance to adoption of computer-based testing and serialization processes.
By Ngozi Nwankwo
The West African Examinations Council, WAEC has praised the successful conduct of 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), saying that its adoption of Computer- Based Test, CBT, and serialization has helped in sanitizing the system and exposing the true performance of the candidates.
While candidates and parents faulted WAEC over mass failure, the Council, however, rated the examination high, as the innovations were measures geared towards curbing examination malpractice and other irregularities.
The WASSCE results released early this week( Monday) disclosed that 1,973,365candidates registered for the examination from twenty-three thousand, five hundred and fifty-four (23,554) recognized secondary schools in the country. Of the number that registered for the examination, 1,969,313 candidates sat the examination. The examination was also administered to candidates from some schools in Benin Republic, Cote d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea, where the Nigerian, curriculum for Senior Secondary Schools is being used.
It also showed that a total of 12,178 candidates with varying degrees of Special Needs registered for the examination. Out of this number, 112 were visually challenged, 615 had impaired hearing; 52 were spastic cum mentally challenged and 37 were physically challenged. All these candidates were adequately provided for, in the administration of the examination. The results of these candidates have been processed and are also now being released along with those of other candidates.
The breakdown of the results disclosed that of the total number of 1,969,313 candidates that sat the examination, 976,787 were males while 992,526, were females, representing 49.60% and 50.40%, respectively.
“Out of the total number of candidates that sat the examination in Nigeria, 1,517,517 candidates, representing 77.06% have their results fully processed and released while 451,796,candidates, representing 22.94% have one or more of their subjects still being processed due to some issues to be resolved.
The analysis of statistics of candidates’ performance in the examination shows that out of the 1,969,313 candidates that sat the examination, 1,718,090, candidates, representing 87.24%, obtained credit and above in a minimum of any five (5) subjects (i.e. with or without English Language and/or Mathematics).
754,545 candidates, representing 38.32%, obtained credits and above in a minimum of five (5) subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
Explaining this major breakthrough innovation deployed in 2025 WASSCE, a WAEC official who did not want her name mention said, “You will recall that prior to the commencement of the examination, the Council sensitized candidates and the general public that as a means of curbing examination malpractice, it has introduced the serialization of objective test question papers in Mathematics, English Language, Biology, and Economics. Under this approach, each candidate was assigned a specific paper type, making collusion and other forms of examination malpractice extremely difficult to perpetrate.”
Also, in an address delivered at a press briefing by Dr. Amos Josiah Dangut said that, “Despite sternly advising candidates to work independently, we still recorded cases of candidates assigned different question papers that copied one another and had the same answers in virtually all questions. The effect of this activity was evident in the overall performance of candidates in the said papers. While performance in the essay papers remained comparable to those of the previous years, that of the objective papers recorded a slight but noticeable decline.
“This outcome reflects the success of the serialization strategy in reducing opportunities for examination malpractice and underscores, the need for candidates to rely on genuine individual preparation before writing any examination.
“The Council remains steadfast in its commitment to credible examinations and will continue to adopt innovative measures that safeguard the integrity of its assessments while promoting true learning and academic excellence among its candidates.”
On examination malpractice, the Council said, “the results of 192,089 candidates, representing 9.75% of the total number of candidates that sat the examination, are being withheld in connection with various reported cases of examination malpractice. This is 2.17% lower than the 11.92% recorded in the WASSCE for School Candidates, 2024.
“The increasing use of cell phones in the examination hall, in spite of the existing ban, and organized cheating in some schools, are other nagging issues. All the cases are being investigated and reports of the investigations will be presented to the appropriate Committee of the Council for consideration and final decisions. The Committee’s decisions will be communicated to the affected candidates through their various schools, in due course. Candidates affected by these decisions can now call for redress of their malpractice cases if they so wish via https://waecinternational.org/complaints
