The 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results have drawn heavy criticism from education stakeholders, with private school proprietors describing the performance as the worst in 10 years.
Dr. Yomi Otubela, National President of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), made this known during an interview on Sunrise Daily, a programme on Channels Television.
He revealed that only 38% of candidates secured five credits, including English and Mathematics, a steep drop from 2024’s 72.12%, and the lowest pass rate since 2015.
“The students passed at about 38%, which is the worst in about 15 years… where the previous low was around 39%,” Otubela stated.
Following the result release, many candidates initially struggled to access their scores online. While this issue was resolved later the same day, controversy arose when a list of schools allegedly involved in exam malpractice began circulating.
Otubela clarified that the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) had distanced itself from the list, describing it as fake.
“WAEC stated clearly that there is no way a school could be listed for malpractice without due investigation and the students’ scripts being reviewed,” he explained.
Dr. Otubela blamed the disappointing results on several systemic issues in Nigeria’s education sector. These include:
- Lack of teacher capacity development: “For the past two years, little has been done to build the capacity of teachers to mentor students effectively,” he said.
- Underfunding: The national education budget still falls below UNESCO’s recommended allocation.
- Inadequate infrastructure and digital access, especially in rural areas.
- Poor learning environments: He cited extreme cases where students wrote exams using candles and torches late at night due to unstable power supply.
“There’s a huge gap between what’s taught in classrooms and the outcomes we expect from students,” Otubela emphasized.
Responding to claims from school directors who questioned the grading in English Language, Otubela admitted that some results did not reflect students’ actual performance.
“We’ve received complaints from our members. WAEC provides a process for reviewing scripts, and we’ve encouraged our members to take that up where necessary,” he said.
Otubela backed the idea of declaring a state of emergency in education, stressing that real transformation requires more than policy, it needs implementation.
“Our biggest problem isn’t policy formulation, but enforcing and monitoring them consistently,” he noted.
He commended the current Minister of Education for taking bold steps, including pushing for mandatory teacher registration through the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN).
“We can’t expect outstanding outcomes from a system that starves its students and teachers of the necessary tools,” Otubela said. “What we see today is the result of a 30-year decline. Without urgent corrective action, it could get worse.”
Otubela urged education authorities to intensify the monitoring and evaluation of schools, especially those suspected of not meeting national standards.
He reiterated that the list of schools alleged to be involved in malpractice was unofficial and should be disregarded until WAEC releases an official statement.
“We challenge those in charge of implementation and oversight to step up and ensure schools comply with the national education standards,” he concluded.
