Candidates Advised to Recheck Results After 48 Hours as Outrage Grows Over WAEC's Technical Failures
Tension mounted nationwide after the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) temporarily blocked access to its results portal for the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) due to technical issues.
According to Moyosola Adesina, Head of Public Affairs at WAEC’s National Office, a post-release review of the results revealed system errors that prompted the council to restrict access to the portal.
WAEC explained that students who had previously checked their results should revisit the platform by Friday to access corrected versions. The Council admitted that flaws were discovered in its backend following the implementation of a new anti-malpractice strategy—paper serialisation—used in subjects like Mathematics, English, Biology, and Economics.
“In response, WAEC is working swiftly to address the issues and has suspended access to the results portal. Affected candidates are advised to check back within 24 hours for updated results.”
This statement followed an earlier post on WAEC’s official X (formerly Twitter) account announcing the temporary shutdown of its result portal due to technical challenges.
WAEC has faced mounting criticism since Monday, when Dr. Amos Dangut, Head of National Office, disclosed that only 38.32% of the nearly two million candidates achieved credit-level passes in five core subjects including English and Mathematics—the lowest performance in ten years.
The announcement sparked widespread concern among educators, parents, and students, particularly amid rising worries over exam malpractice and whether the system is ready for a full shift to computer-based testing (CBT).
Among the groups responding to WAEC’s statement were the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), the National Association of Parent-Teacher Associations of Nigeria (NAPTAN), and the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS).
Haruna Danjuma, President of NAPTAN, acknowledged WAEC’s willingness to admit fault but criticized the council’s proposed move to full CBT for external exams, calling it impractical.
“Admitting mistakes is commendable, but switching WASSCE and NECO entirely to CBT is unrealistic,” he said, pointing out a lack of infrastructure and low computer literacy among students, especially in rural areas. He urged governments to begin investing in computer education now if the goal is full CBT implementation by 2026.
NANS, however, was far less forgiving. The association’s Assistant General Secretary, Adejuwon Olatunji, condemned WAEC for failing to test its systems adequately, saying the errors had caused unnecessary emotional stress for students and families.
“This isn’t just an error—it’s proof that WAEC’s leadership has failed. Releasing flawed results is inexcusable,” Olatunji stated. “This mistake has academic, emotional, and financial consequences. Someone must be held accountable.”
He dismissed WAEC’s apology and called for disciplinary action, saying the situation exposed deep-rooted incompetence. “If WAEC wants to uphold integrity, it must start with internal reform. The leadership has failed. There must be change at the top.”
Many Nigerians took to social media, voicing skepticism over WAEC’s promised 24-hour fix.
A user, @SaintSeyiB, wrote, “Curious to see how WAEC will explain the sudden grade changes. Parents won’t accept errors quietly—legal actions may follow.”
Another user, @peculiarpat1, criticized WAEC’s premature release of results, asking why the council didn’t complete its review before going public. “The rush to publish has only caused distress. Institutions must stop compounding people’s problems.”
@Inv_Dos echoed similar sentiments, writing, “You saw mass failure in English. Why didn’t you review before releasing?”
Meanwhile, @esoonet demanded accountability, urging President Tinubu to take firm action: “If no heads roll by Monday, it means no one’s taking this seriously. This is how public trust dies.”
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