Students asked to re-check updated results; protests erupt as parents reject CBT plans

A wave of outrage has erupted following the inability of candidates to access their 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results due to technical issues encountered by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).

The Council confirmed that glitches were discovered in its result processing system during a post-release review, prompting it to temporarily suspend access to the result-checking portal. Moyosola Adesina, Head of Public Affairs at WAEC’s National Office, issued a statement noting that the issue affected subjects such as Mathematics, English Language, Biology, and Economics, which were subjected to a new paper serialisation method.

WAEC acknowledged that while the serialisation aimed to curb malpractice in line with global assessment standards, internal checks identified bugs affecting the integrity of some results.

“The West African Examinations Council regrets to announce that technical issues were detected during the internal audit of the 2025 WASSCE results for school candidates,” the statement read. “To maintain the fairness and credibility of our processes, access to the result checker portal has been temporarily restricted while we urgently correct the identified errors.”

WAEC assured the public that updated results would be made available within 24 hours and advised students to re-check their results from Friday.

The clarification followed WAEC’s earlier announcement on social media that its portal had been temporarily shut down due to “technical issues.” The incident drew sharp criticism from education stakeholders, particularly after WAEC revealed earlier in the week that only 38.32% of the 1,969,313 candidates who took the exam obtained credit-level passes in at least five subjects, including English and Mathematics—the lowest rate in ten years.

Reactions poured in from major educational bodies, including the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), the National Association of Parent-Teacher Associations of Nigeria (NAPTAN), and the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS).

Haruna Danjuma, NAPTAN’s National President, acknowledged WAEC’s admission but strongly opposed the push for Computer-Based Testing (CBT) in high-stakes exams like WASSCE and NECO.

“It’s good WAEC admitted its mistake, but fully adopting CBT for these exams is unrealistic,” Danjuma said, citing inadequate infrastructure and low digital literacy among students, especially in rural areas.

“About 80 to 90% of students in rural schools are not computer-literate. If we’re serious about CBT in 2026, government at all levels must urgently invest in computer labs and digital training, starting with SS2 students.”

Meanwhile, NANS condemned the Council’s handling of the situation. Assistant General Secretary Adejuwon Olatunji called the glitch a reflection of WAEC’s incompetence and demanded sanctions against those responsible.

“This is not just a technical failure. It’s a clear case of leadership failure,” he said. “Millions of students rely on WAEC’s credibility. Releasing flawed results without thorough system testing is unacceptable.”

He added that some students received incorrect grades, while others couldn’t access their results at all, causing significant emotional and psychological distress.

“WAEC must be held accountable. Those in charge must resign. You cannot preach integrity and then act without it. This failure affects lives, careers, and futures.”

Public reactions on social media further fuelled the backlash.

A user with the handle @SaintSeyiB wrote: “How do they intend to explain the 24-hour ‘miracle’ grade corrections? Many parents will demand to see their children’s scripts. This could trigger lawsuits.”

Another user, @peculiarpat1, questioned WAEC’s haste in releasing results without final quality checks: “Why rush the release? If people didn’t raise alarm, would WAEC have reviewed anything?”

@Inv_Dos added: “Mass failure in English, yet you didn’t pause to recheck before releasing? This is incompetence.”

@esoonet demanded that responsible officials be removed, stating: “If there are no consequences or resignations by Monday, then the authorities aren’t serious about accountability.”

Several others, including @I_am_Adedolapo_ and @Akabani2005, expressed disbelief that WAEC would fail to conduct thorough internal checks before publication.

President of the NUT, Audu Amba, also weighed in, saying the public outcry was justified. He rejected narratives blaming teachers for the poor results and instead highlighted wider systemic issues.

“Teachers want to succeed. But the environment must support them,” Amba said. “Are students willing to learn? Are parents actively involved? Is the government truly funding education?”

He noted that many schools lacked teaching materials, furniture, and functioning quality assurance units, leaving teachers overwhelmed and unsupported.

“Some teachers don’t even have chairs to sit on when marking scripts. Many students sit on bare floors. Yet people expect miracles.”

Despite these issues, Amba commended WAEC for acknowledging its mistake. “They’ve admitted there’s a problem. Let’s hope they fix it quickly and properly,” he said.

In an official statement, the Federal Ministry of Education confirmed that the technical issue had been resolved. Director of Press, Folasade Boriowo, praised WAEC’s swift response and transparency in addressing the matter.

“Updated results will be available within the next 24 hours. We thank affected candidates for their patience and reassure the public of our commitment to credible assessments,” Boriowo said.

She added that the reform agenda of the Education Minister includes phased CBT implementation for objective sections of national exams starting in November 2026. The aim, she explained, is to reduce malpractice, prevent leaks, and restore public trust in examination processes.

“It is essential to ensure that Nigerian students are evaluated on merit and that their qualifications retain global relevance.”