WAEC Under Fire Over Record 61% Failure Rate, Admits to “System Glitch” After Public Outrage

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The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has made a dramatic U-turn, admitting to a system glitch that may have caused the unprecedented mass failure in the 2025 Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE) results — just days after celebrating the poor performance as proof of its strict anti-malpractice measures.

The council has now urged candidates to recheck their results within 24 hours, following nationwide anger over inexplicable failures in key subjects, including English Language, Mathematics, Economics, and Biology.

This year’s results sparked outrage after 1,214,768 out of 1,969,313 candidates — a staggering 61% — failed both English and Mathematics, leaving only 38.32% with the five credits required for university admission. It is the worst pass rate since 2015, shattering nearly a decade of improvement.

Initially, WAEC’s Head, Amos Dangut, claimed the failures were the result of “impeccable anti-malpractice measures” that made cheating impossible. But many Nigerians, including education experts, questioned the logic — pointing out cases where brilliant students who excelled in Physics, Chemistry, and Further Mathematics inexplicably scored straight F9 in English alone.

Tensions have been further fueled by reports of irregularities during the exam. On May 28, English Language papers in some centers reportedly dragged on until 11 p.m., and in extreme cases, 1 a.m., due to logistical failures — an incident WAEC never addressed.

Education advocate Alex Onyia likened the controversy to the recent JAMB results scandal, urging a full investigation into the council’s marking and grading systems.

With the pass rate plunging from 72.12% in 2024 to just 38.32% in 2025, millions of Nigerian students and parents are now left anxiously waiting to see if the “system glitch” explanation will restore their hopes — or deepen the crisis of confidence in one of the country’s most important examinations.