WAEC Under Fire As Results Portal Crashes Amid Mass English Failures

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) is facing public outrage after its online result checker portal crashed Wednesday evening, just days after releasing what many are calling the worst WASSCE results in a decade.

In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), WAEC blamed the shutdown of its result-checking platform, waecdirect.org, on technical issues and promised to restore access within 24 hours. But the explanation did little to calm frustration among students, parents, and education stakeholders.

The crash comes amid mounting backlash over widespread failure in English Language. Only 38.32 percent of the 1.97 million candidates who sat the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination secured five credits and above, including English and Mathematics—a record low in recent years.

Across social media, students shared screenshots showing they passed other subjects but failed English. Many blamed the poor performance on the chaotic handling of the English Language paper, which was delayed in several centres and reportedly conducted as late as 8 p.m. on May 28, in poorly lit conditions and under shortened time limits.

One user, @sikimark, tweeted: “It is concerning that the English exam, which was delayed at centres nationwide, is now resulting in widespread failures. If JAMB could make amends, we hope you (WAEC) will take steps to rectify the situation. It was a national disgrace.”

Another candidate, @_samad1, wrote: “We wrote exams at 8 pm. We were given one hour or 30 minutes to answer questions that should last two and a half hours. There was no light, and everyone was in a hurry to leave. Please rethink.”

Others expressed suspicion that the results were deliberately skewed to drive up remarking fees. “Just like JAMB, WAEC is gambling with the future of Nigerians. If the majority of the D’s, E’s and F8’s awarded in English are rechecked, WAEC will pay dearly,” posted @JayTrezy.

Some students believe the scores may improve once the site is back online. “When the portal is reopened, you will see magic,” tweeted Daniel Ebitimi.

Parents are also demanding answers. Many questioned how students who performed well in science, commercial, and art subjects could fail English.

WAEC has not responded to the rising calls for a full review of English Language scripts or addressed concerns over the conduct of the examination.