The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has recorded its poorest result in five years, with only 38.32% of candidates passing five subjects, including English and Mathematics.
Out of nearly 2 million candidates who sat for the exam, 754,545 met the minimum benchmark. This marks a significant drop from the 72.12% pass rate recorded in 2024.
WAEC’s Head of National Office, Amos Dangut, announced the figures in Lagos, attributing the sharp decline partly to reforms aimed at curbing malpractice, including serialised objective questions and the introduction of Computer-Based Testing (CBT) in some schools.
He said 192,089 results were withheld over suspected exam malpractice, while over 450,000 students had one or more subjects still being processed.
Experts have blamed the poor outcome on inadequate preparation, low teacher motivation, digital illiteracy, and distractions like social media.
Some teachers and parents are now calling for urgent reforms, including proper training for teachers and digital orientation for students.
