2025 WASSCE:  NAPPS Describes Results as Worst Since 2015

The National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) has raised alarm over what it described as the “worst performance in a decade” in the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, NAPPS National President, Dr Yomi Otubela, lamented that only 38% of candidates passed, a drop from the previous low of 39% recorded in 2015. “This is not just a statistic; it is a wake-up call. We must declare a state of emergency in education,” he said. Otubela blamed the poor results on “inadequate teacher capacity building, poor budgetary allocation, decaying infrastructure, and lack of digital access, especially in rural areas.”

He cited disturbing conditions under which some students prepared for the examinations, saying, “Some wrote their papers after studying with candles or torchlights because there was no electricity.” While commending the Minister of Education’s reforms, including stricter teacher registration through the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), he stressed the need for more decisive action to reverse the decline.  On the alleged publication of schools indicted for malpractice, Otubela clarified: “WAEC has denied releasing any such list. Those reports are false.” He urged stakeholders to act swiftly, warning that without urgent intervention, “the sector’s future will be in jeopardy.”