WAEC Faces Backlash as Result Portal Crashes, Students Blame Poor English Scores
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) is under intense public criticism following the temporary shutdown of its result checker portal on Wednesday. The Council attributed the outage to “technical issues” and promised the platform would be back online within 24 hours.
The announcement, made via WAEC’s official X account (@waecnigeria), has sparked widespread outrage. Many Nigerians, particularly candidates and parents, are already upset about the poor performance in the recently released 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), especially in the English Language.
According to WAEC’s earlier statement, only 38.32 percent of the nearly two million candidates obtained credit passes in five subjects, including English and Mathematics — the worst result in a decade. This low pass rate has led many to question the Council’s credibility.
On social media, users have accused WAEC of poor planning and alleged that the delay in writing the English paper at several centres affected student performance. Some students claimed they sat for the English exam as late as 8 p.m. under poor lighting, and were given much less time than required to complete the paper.
One user, @sikimark, tweeted, “It is concerning that the English exam, which was delayed nationwide, is now resulting in widespread failures. If JAMB could make corrections, WAEC should too. This is a national disgrace.” Another candidate, @_samad1, said they were rushed during the exam and had no proper conditions to perform well.
Several users expressed hope that once the portal is back online, they may see improved scores. However, others accused the exam body of deliberate manipulation and questioned whether the poor results were an attempt to generate more revenue from re-marking fees.
Parents also voiced their concerns, confused about how students with excellent grades in most subjects could fail English. A parent, @Johnway11145073, shared, “My daughter got five A1s and two B2s, but a D7 in English. That doesn’t add up.”
Some candidates have called for a total review of the 2025 results, especially in English and Mathematics. “WAEC, do the needful or face mass protests,” tweeted @pastorbtdaniels.
Despite the public outcry, WAEC has not yet responded to demands for a review or provided more clarity on the grading process for the English Language paper.
