The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has confirmed a worrying dip in educational performance with the release of the provisional 2025 WASSCE results, revealing a sharp surge in outright failures (Grade F9) across all four core subjects compared to 2024.
Official data show that the proportion of candidates who scored F9 in Core Mathematics has nearly quadrupled, rising from 6.10% in 2024 to 26.77% in 2025 meaning almost one in every four candidates failed the subject.
Social Studies recorded a similarly steep decline, with the F9 rate almost tripling from 9.55% in 2024 to 27.50% in 2025, representing an increase of about 188 percent.
The trend cuts across the remaining core subjects, with both literacy and science outcomes worsening significantly:
Integrated Science: F9 rate jumped from 7.12% in 2024 to 16.05% in 2025, an 8.93 percentage point rise.
English Language: Failures more than doubled, increasing from 5.88% to 12.86% over the same period.
Overall, the sharp spike in F9 grades suggests a serious erosion of foundational knowledge among the 461,736 candidates who sat for the exams, especially in the core subjects that determine access to tertiary education.
Sanctions, Irregularities and Collusion
WAEC has also announced a series of sanctions following widespread examination malpractice:
Subject Results Cancelled: 6,295 candidates lost their subject results for bringing unauthorised materials, including notes, textbooks and printed sheets, into the exam hall.
Entire Results Cancelled: The full results of 653 candidates were annulled for possessing mobile phones during the exams.
Results Withheld: The subject results of 908 candidates and the entire results of 158 others have been withheld pending investigations into various suspected offences.
School Collusion: Results of candidates from 185 schools are on hold over alleged collusion.
WAEC further disclosed that 35 individuals including 19 teachers who compromised the integrity of the exams are facing legal and disciplinary action. So far, 19 of them have been arraigned and convicted, receiving fines or custodial sentences.
