The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) is facing renewed backlash following the temporary shutdown of its result-checking portal on Wednesday evening, citing “technical issues” as the reason.
The announcement, made via WAEC’s official X (formerly Twitter) account, @waecnigeria, triggered further criticism amid ongoing frustration over the poor performance recorded in the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) — particularly in English Language.
WAEC stated:
“The result checker portal @waecdirect.org is temporarily shut down due to technical issues.”
This message only added to public doubt surrounding the council’s credibility, especially after it had been revealed on Monday that just 38.32% of the 1,969,313 candidates who took the exam earned credits or higher in five subjects, including English and Mathematics — the worst result in over ten years.
On social media, many Nigerians blamed logistical failures during the exam period, especially the delayed English Language exam, which reportedly took place late at night in many centers on May 28.
Screenshots of results showing good grades in other subjects but failures in English circulated online, with several users calling for a re-evaluation of the English scripts.
WAEC assured the public that it was working to restore access within 24 hours and apologized for the inconvenience.
However, the damage to public trust had already been done.
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A user, @sikimark, noted the irregularities during the English exam and expressed hope that WAEC would correct the situation, drawing comparisons with JAMB's handling of past issues.
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Another candidate, @_samad1, recounted how they wrote the exam at 8 p.m., were given only 30 minutes to one hour for a paper that should last over two hours, and had to write under poor lighting.
Some students believed scores might be updated once the portal came back online. Others accused WAEC of intentionally downgrading results for financial or other motives.
“If most of the D’s, E’s, and F8’s in English are reviewed, WAEC will be exposed,” wrote @JayTrezy.
Parents also joined in the complaints, questioning how students who scored A1s and B2s in multiple subjects could get D7s in English, or even have results withheld.
“WAEC, I’m begging. Please review the English paper again. I paid a lot to register for this exam. Now the result is threatening my future,” pleaded @DEYHOT_official.
Some users went as far as calling for a complete recall of the 2025 results, particularly for English and Mathematics, and warned that failure to act could lead to mass protests.
“Students wrote the English exam in the middle of the night and were still failed,” wrote @MarquizDejavex.
“The presidency and education ministry must get involved to allow external reviewers to assess WAEC’s process,” added @e_okwori.
So far, WAEC has not provided further clarification on the English Language grading or responded to growing calls for a full review.
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