The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has temporarily shut down its result checker portal following what it described as a “technical issue” discovered during an internal review of the recently released 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results.
In an official statement released on Thursday morning and signed by the Acting Head of Public Affairs, Moyosola Adesina, the Council expressed regret over the inconvenience and assured candidates that the issue would be resolved within 24 hours.
The announcement followed the Council’s decision to embark on an innovation, “paper serialisation,” aimed at curbing examination malpractice. However, the post-release review revealed bugs in results for key subjects, including Mathematics, English Language, Biology, and Economics.
As a result, access to the WASSCE (SC) 2025 results has been temporarily denied on the result checker portal,” the statement read. Candidates who have previously checked their results are advised to re-check after 24 hours.
The shutdown, which occurred on Wednesday evening, was first made public via WAEC’s official X handle. The move has since sparked renewed criticism, as many Nigerians continue to express outrage not only at the technical failure but also at the widespread poor performance recorded this year, particularly in the English Language.
Outcry Over Poor Results and Systemic Failures
Initial results had already triggered nationwide concern. Only 754,545 out of the 1,969,313 candidates who sat for the 2025 WASSCE obtained credits and above in a minimum of five subjects, a drastic drop from previous years.
This year’s English Language paper, in particular, was marred by logistical failures. In multiple states, students were reportedly forced to write the exam late into the night using candlelight and mobile phone torches due to delays in the arrival of examination materials, widespread power outages, and poor lighting conditions in public schools.
A Reminder of JAMB 2025 UTME Glitches
The WAEC controversy comes on the heels of similar issues that plagued the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). The Registrar of JAMB, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, emotionally apologised at a press briefing in Abuja over the widespread failure and technical challenges that disrupted the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
JAMB revealed that a staggering 379,997 candidates were affected by technical glitches, including 206,610 candidates across 65 centres in Lagos, and 173,387 candidates in 92 centres in the Owerri zone, which covers the five South East states. These disruptions resulted in distorted results and exam rescheduling.
In response, the Board announced a makeup exam for all affected candidates, even as public trust in Nigeria’s examination bodies continues to wane.
Read Also: Nigeria Extends Condolences to Ghana After Helicopter Crash Claims Lives of Top Officials
About The Author
