WASSCE Results: WAEC Breaks Down Main Reasons for Alarming Performance in 2025 Exam
- The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) shared findings from problem subjects during the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE)
- WAEC released the provisional 2025 WASSCE results for candidates on November 29, highlighting significant declines
- A total of 461,640 candidates were registered for the 2025 WASSCE, comprising 207,381 male candidates and 254,259 female candidates
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has outlined the major weaknesses that led to the alarming decline in candidates’ performance in the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
The Head of Public Relations at WAEC, John Kapi, shared findings from the chief examiners on Core Mathematics and Social Studies.
Source: Facebook
The 2025 WASSCE saw a marked decline in these subjects. In Core Mathematics, for example, A1-C6 passes fell from 305,132 in 2024 to 209,068 in 2025.
This represented a decline of more than 96,000 passes. With a pass rate of just 48.73%, more than half of the candidates failed to secure the grades required for tertiary education.
On Channel One TV, Kapi said the seven main weaknesses identified in Core Mathematics were:
- Difficulty representing mathematical information in diagrams
- Inability to solve global mathematics-related problems
- Poor construction of cumulative frequency tables
- Weaknesses in making deductions from real-life situations
- Challenges in solving simple interest applications
- Inability to translate word problems into mathematical expressions
- Difficulty interpreting results from cumulative frequency data
For Social Studies, Kapi said chief examiners also identified gaps in candidates’ understanding and analytical skills.
The key weaknesses in Social Studies were:
- Inability to write about government policies designed to improve citizens’ lives
- Failure to explain how costly funerals negatively affect national development
- Weak discussions on the forms of cooperation between Ghana and the United Nations agencies
In comments to YEN.com.gh Enoch Gyetuah, the National Executive Director of the Ghana National Council of Private Schools, lay blame at the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment
"The disconnect between curriculum design and assessment methodology is a recipe for disaster. It is imperative that we modernize our examination system to reflect the changing needs of the 21st century. The system's failure to adapt to these changes is a clear indication of its own obsolescence."
2025 WASSCE results released
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) released the provisional 2025 WASSCE results for candidates on November 29.
Login details have been provided to Heads of Schools to enable them to access their candidates' results.
WAEC cancelled the entire results of 653 candidates who sat for the exam following confirmed cases of examination malpractice.
Thousands more are facing additional sanctions because of the malpractice.
Also, 6,295 candidates had their subject results cancelled for bringing foreign materials such as prepared notes, textbooks and printed sheets into exam centres.
About the 2025 WASSCE
The 2025 WASSCE started on August 5 with practical tests, while the written papers began on August 20 and will end on September 19.
The candidates sat 65 subjects in all, and each of them took an average of eight subjects.
Source: Facebook
A total of 461,640 candidates were registered for the 2025 WASSCE, comprising 207,381 male candidates and 254,259 female candidates.
The examination was conducted in about 701 examination centres across the country.
University of Ghana shares admission guidelines
YEN.com.gh reported that the University of Ghana has issued application guidelines to prospective students following the release of the 2025 WASSCE results.
The Academic Affairs Directorate advised prospective undergraduate students to log in to the University of Ghana Applications Portal and update their details in line with their newly released results.
Source: YEN.com.gh
