The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) on Friday announced a dramatic upward review of the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results, raising the national pass rate from 38.32 per cent to 62.96 per cent.
The reversal follows days of public outrage from parents, teachers and students who condemned the initial figures as “shockingly poor” and demanded a probe into the conduct and grading of the examination.
Addressing journalists in Lagos, WAEC’s Head of National Office, Dr. Amos Dangut, said the review was the outcome of what he described as a “meticulous re-evaluation” of scripts and grading processes after stakeholders flagged “genuine concerns” over the credibility of the earlier results.
> “After thoroughly reviewing the examination process and results, 62.96 per cent of candidates can now be confirmed to have obtained credits and above in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics,” Dangut said.
The initial release on Monday had shown that barely four in ten candidates reached that benchmark, sparking nationwide criticism and trending debates on social media under hashtags such as #WASSCE2025 and #WAECReviewNow.
While the new figures have been greeted with relief in many quarters, some education activists and parents remain skeptical.
They have called on WAEC to publish a detailed breakdown of the review process, warning that “grade inflation” could undermine the integrity of the certificate.
WAEC, however, insisted that its credibility remains intact, stressing that the adjustment was based on verified findings and not political or public pressure.
The council did not disclose whether the review was prompted by marking errors, faulty grading parameters or technical issues.
With the revised results, over 1.3 million candidates are now expected to meet the minimum admission requirements for Nigerian universities, a sharp rise from the earlier projection based on Monday’s figures.
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