The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has admitted to major technical glitches in the 2025 WASSCE results.
For nearly two million Nigerian students, what should have been a day of celebration has quickly spiraled into confusion.
The chaos was traced to WAEC’s newly introduced paper-serialization system — a security upgrade aimed at stamping out malpractice in subjects like Mathematics, English, Biology, and Economics. Instead, the innovation backfired, corrupting result displays and leaving candidates staring at grades they didn’t earn.
Once the anomaly was spotted, WAEC pulled the plug on its result-checker portal, urging students to return after 24 hours for corrected scores. By August 8, the Federal Ministry of Education announced the glitch had been resolved, applauding WAEC for its “swift response, transparency, and professionalism.”
Yet the numbers behind the drama raised even more eyebrows: only 38.3% of candidates achieved credits in at least five subjects — including Maths and English — a sharp fall from last year’s 72%. In an exam season already shadowed by nerves, the figure amplified public concern.
On social media, reactions ranged from outrage to reluctant praise. Some students feared that erroneous grades could cost them admissions or scholarships; others thanked WAEC for moving quickly to set things right. But lingering questions remain over how such a critical error could slip through in the first place.
In the wake of the uproar, WAEC has doubled down on promises to protect exam integrity and rebuild public trust. Whether that trust can be fully restored after “Glitchgate” may be the true test of Nigeria’s examination system.
