The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has announced the temporary withdrawal of the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results for school candidates due to the discovery of technical issues in the result release process.

The Council made this known in a statement issued by the Acting Head of Public Affairs, Moyosola Adesina, on Thursday, August 7, 2025.

According to the statement, the decision followed an internal review which revealed glitches resulting from a recently adopted paper serialization system aimed at curbing examination malpractice.

?As part of our efforts to curb examination malpractice, the Council embarked on an innovation already deployed by a national examination body. The paper serialization was carried out in Mathematics, English Language, Biology and Economics. However, an internal post result release procedure revealed some technical bugs in the results,? the statement said.

WAEC noted that it had temporarily disabled access to the WASSCE (SC) 2025 results on the result checker portal in order to urgently rectify the identified errors. The Council described the move as a measure taken in line with its commitment to fairness, professionalism and best practices in assessment.

?We extend our deep and sincere apologies to all affected candidates and the general public. We appreciate their patience and understanding as we work diligently to resolve this matter with transparency and urgency within the next twenty four hours,? WAEC said.

Candidates who have previously checked their results have been advised to re-check them after twenty four hours from the time of the announcement.

The Council reaffirmed its commitment to upholding excellence, fairness and transparency in all its assessment processes, urging the public to continue to repose confidence in its integrity and service to the Nigerian child.

Glitch fixed, updates available Friday (today)

In an update late Thursday, the Federal Ministry of Education on Thursday confirmed that it has resolved the technical issue that affected the release of some 2025 WASSCE results, promising that updated records will be available within 24 hours.

The glitch, according to the Ministry, was linked to subjects where paper serialisation was deployed by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) as a security feature during the exams. The error occurred during post-processing and affected the display of results for a number of candidates.

In an official statement signed by the Ministry?s Director of Press and Public Relations, Folasade Boriowo, the government commended WAEC for what it described as ?swift response, transparency, and professionalism? in resolving the issue. She added that candidates would be able to access their corrected results via the usual WAEC result-checking portal by Friday, August 8.

?We appreciate the patience and understanding of all affected candidates,? the statement read. ?This development reinforces the Honourable Minister?s broader education reform agenda, which prioritises examination integrity across all bodies under the Ministry?s supervision, particularly WAEC and the National Examinations Council (NECO).?

The Ministry used the opportunity to announce a key reform initiative: the phased introduction of Computer-Based Testing (CBT) by both WAEC and NECO, beginning with the objective components of exams from November 2026.

According to Boriowo, the shift to CBT is part of ongoing reforms aimed at addressing longstanding concerns about examination malpractice, including question leakages and result manipulation.

?The adoption of CBT represents a critical step toward curbing malpractice, preventing question leakages, and restoring public trust in the examination system. It is a necessary reform to ensure Nigerian students are assessed strictly on merit and that their certificates retain credibility both locally and internationally,? she stated.

The Minister of State for Education, Dr. Yusuf Tanko Sununu, and the Minister of Education, Dr. Tahir Mamman, were not named in the statement, but Boriowo noted that the reforms align with the vision of the Honourable Minister. She quoted the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Didi Alausa, as stressing the importance of integrity in national assessment systems.

?Dr. Alausa emphasized that safeguarding the integrity of examinations is not optional?it is essential. Upholding high standards, he noted, protects the future of our young people and sustains Nigeria?s global reputation,? Boriowo added.

The Ministry assured parents, students, and education stakeholders of its continued commitment to fair, transparent, and merit-based evaluation processes in the country?s education sector. (Pieced together from reports by The Nation and The Guardian)

Update news