The release of the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results has triggered widespread concern and criticism from parents, educators, student unions, and education stakeholders, who have collectively attributed the dismal performance to systemic failures in Nigeria’s education sector.
According to the figures released by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) on Monday, July 5, only 754,545 out of the 1,969,313 candidates secured credit passes and above in at least five subjects, including Mathematics and English Language—amounting to just 38.32%.
This marks a staggering decline from the 72.12% recorded in 2024, a drop of 33.8%, according to Dr. Amos Dangut, Head of WAEC’s Nigeria National Office.
READ ALSO: WASSCE 2025: Pass rate crashes by 33.8% as only 38% secure five credits
Parents from affected states have lamented the difficult conditions under which students sat for the exams.
A mother from Imo State, Oluchi Kalu, told Vanguard that the poor performance could be linked to infrastructural challenges.
“In Imo State, the WAEC results were quite shocking — many students failed English,” she said.
“They wrote the exams under difficult conditions. Some had to rely on candles and torchlights due to power outages. Yet, it appears no concessions were made during marking, despite these challenges.You cannot keep students waiting late into the night to sit for exams and then mark their scripts without considering the circumstances.I witnessed some of my neighbours’ children returning home in the wee hours after their exams. And this wasn’t limited to Imo — it happened in other states as well.”
The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) believes the results are symptomatic of deeper structural issues. Comrade Akintoye Hassan, Lagos State Chairman of NUT, criticized the conduct of the exams, particularly the decision to allow students write leaked papers at odd hours.
“The Council said it discovered that the paper leaked, and instead of cancelling it, went ahead to let students write it at odd hours,” he said.
“The students, who had conditioned their minds to write the paper in the morning, were delayed till evening and even night in some cases. They were not allowed to go out. May be some of them did not eat even at that point in time. When the paper was to be written finally, in most cases, the students did so using phone torchlight and other embarrassing sources of light because most of the schools have no power supply sources.
“Does it mean schools don’t deserve to be provided with electricity even if they are not residential? Is electricity not one of the things to aid learning? Now, some people would want to heap the whole blame on the teachers. Apart from the above, which cannot be the sole factor for the development, so many other factors are responsible too.Some students only want to be literate, and forget about one big certificate.”
Similarly, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) also expressed dissatisfaction over the chaotic conditions in which the examinations were conducted. According to the group’s spokesperson, Comrade Adeyemi Ajasa: “What do you expect? The conduct of the exam in some instances left much to be desired.
“Look at the day they wrote the English Language paper. It was horrific. Candidates were drained emotionally and were tired. But a lot of other factors also contributed. The technical hitches in the exam were what some candidates also experienced during the UTME.”
The National President of the National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN), Alhaji Haruna Danjuma, also weighed in, pointing to several compounding issues including inadequate teacher recruitment and unaffordable educational resources for students.
“One may say the level of examination malpractice has gone down. But that is just one of the factors,” he noted. “But, do we have the teachers that can deliver what is needed in the required number?
“Many states have refused to engage new teachers to fill vacancies. Also, some parents cannot afford to buy the necessary textbooks for the wards and children. The prices have gone out of reach.”
Oluchi Kalu further proposed that remedial steps be taken quickly, including the organization of mock exams to help affected students regain confidence and perform better under improved conditions.
NUT representatives also called attention to a cultural shift in youth priorities. “Our challenge is not what we are experiencing now, but what we ought to do in the past that we have failed to do. Our young ones too don’t take the issue of education serious again when they see those who go to school and are certificated doing menial jobs to eke out a living.”
NANS called for urgent reforms adding that “there is need to take a holistic look at the education sector, and redress the situation. Teachers must be motivated. More of them should be employed and trained to impart the needed knowledge on the students. Also, what about facilities too in our schools? We are pleading with the government to please pay priority attention to the education sector,” said Comrade Ajasa.
Danjuma of NAPTAN concluded, “We need to also equip our schools properly. Teachers welfare is also critical. When a teacher is thinking of what to eat and how to meet basic needs, how can he give the best to the students? Parents also have to take more interest in the education of their children.”
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