WAEC marking error on the 2025 May/June SSCE results fixed, Candidates directed to re-check

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has released updated results for the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates after discovering grading errors that significantly affected students’ performance.

Speaking during a press conference held on Friday at the WAEC National Office in Yaba, Lagos, the Head of WAEC Nigeria, Dr. Amos Dangut, admitted to a serious error in the marking process, specifically involving serialised exam papers.

“With deep sorrow and regret, I, on behalf of the Registrar to Council, Management, and Staff of WAEC Nigeria, apologise for the discrepancies discovered in the grading of serialised papers,” Dr. Dangut said. “This is very difficult for us to say, but we have to admit that it is very embarrassing.”

He explained that WAEC had adopted a security innovation called paper serialisation already being used by another national exam body in an effort to combat malpractice. The system was implemented in subjects like Mathematics, English Language, Biology, and Economics.

However, after results were released, an internal review revealed that the English Language Objective Test (Paper 3) had been graded using incorrect answer keys, due to a wrongly assigned serialisation code during printing.

“We investigated and discovered that a serialised code file was wrongly used in the printing of the English Language Objective paper,” Dangut said. “This resulted in them being marked with incorrect answer keys. It is important to note that candidates who took the exam using the computer-based mode were not affected.”

Following the correction, updated statistics show a marked improvement. A total of 1,794,821 candidates or 91.14% now have credit and above in at least five subjects (with or without English and Mathematics).

More importantly, 1,239,884 candidates (62.96%) obtained five credits including English and Mathematics. This is a significant jump from the previously reported 38.32%, though still lower than the 72.12% recorded in 2024. Of those with five credits including English and Maths, 53.05% (657,819) were female, while 46.95% (582,065) were male. In total, 1,969,313 candidates sat for the examination across Nigeria and in schools following the Nigerian curriculum in the Benin Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, and Equatorial Guinea.

So far, 1,763,470 candidates (89.55%) have had their results fully processed. However, 205,916 candidates (10.45%) still have one or more subjects pending due to technical issues, which WAEC says are being resolved.

WAEC advised students to check their updated results and apply for their digital certificates, which will be ready within 48 hours of result verification. Hard copy certificates, meanwhile, will be available within 90 days.

Update on Withheld (seized) Results
WAEC also disclosed that the 192,089 results, representing 9.75 per cent of total candidates, are being withheld for various offenses, including the use of banned mobile phones and collusion. This marks a slight improvement from the 11.92 per cent withheld in 2024 The WAEC boss noted that all the cases are being investigated and reports of the investigations will be presented to the appropriate committee of the Council for consideration and final decisions.

How to Check Your WAEC Result

Candidates are advised to start checking their results within the next 24 hours.. To check your 2025 WASSCE result, simply follow the easy steps we have provided on this link: 2025 WASSCE May/June SSCE Result Checking Procedure