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| Recheck your WAEC result on the portal. |
The West African Examinations Council moved to correct a wide mix-up in its 2025 Senior School Certificate results and asked every candidate to return and recheck their scores on the official portal within a day.
That call came after the Council said internal checks found bugs in how some marks were handled, and it temporarily pulled access to the result checker while staff fixed the problem.
Early numbers from the first release had shown a shockingly low pass rate that sparked shock and urgent questions from parents, students and schools about the accuracy of the figures.
After a close review, WAEC issued corrected figures that lifted the share of candidates with five credits including English and Mathematics to roughly six in ten, a marked change from the earlier release.
The new tally shows 1,239,884 candidates with credits in at least five subjects, a number the Council says represents about 63 percent of those who took the exam, after the review was completed.
The reversal followed a review of a new step the Council added to check papers, where paper serial numbers were used in Mathematics, English Language, Biology and Economics, and staff found tech glitches that changed some marks.
Because of that finding, the Council narrowed its checks to the affected subjects, said it would correct any wrong marks, and paused public access so the fixes could be done without creating more noise or confusion.
WAEC told candidates who had already printed or saved a result to treat that copy as provisional and to recheck the portal once the updated figures were posted, so people would not act on an old or wrong mark.
Many pupils, parents and some schools reacted to the first numbers with alarm, warning that an incorrect record could shut doors for students applying to universities, jobs or scholarships.
Officials said the portal was taken down to stop more candidates from pulling results that might not match the corrected database, and to give staff room to run full checks and post the right file.
The portal outage and the reissue of numbers put WAEC under intense public scrutiny, with calls for clearer testing of any new tool before it touches final marks that affect lives.
WAEC said it regrets the error and pledged to keep working on stronger checks in marking and release steps while also keeping candidates informed about next moves and digital certificate access.
If you need to recheck your result, go to the official WAEC result portal and follow the exact fields: enter your ten-digit exam number, pick the year 2025, choose the school-candidate option, then type the scratch card serial and the PIN.
If you already bought a digital certificate or saved a PDF, WAEC says those services remain valid, but you should confirm the grade lines on the fresh file before using it for admission or job steps that depend on official marks.
Schools that make early offers were asked to pause any final moves until each student’s record is confirmed on the updated portal, to prevent wrong offers or needless stress for families.
The use of paper serial numbers aimed to block copied scripts and fake entries, but that mix of new tech and human steps opened space for small bugs to skew totals once results were released.
Digital checks after release are common in large exams because a single data tag or link can skew totals, and fixing such issues quickly is usually safer than leaving wrong records in place.
Still, the sheer scale of the exercise — nearly two million candidates in this sitting — makes corrections hard, and it is a reminder that tech tools need dry runs and audit checks before they are used at scale.
Parents and students asked WAEC for clear, plain steps: how to recheck, what to do if a new mark changes admission status, and how to secure corrected copies for use with schools or employers.
WAEC told candidates to use only its official channels for final word on corrected results, and to treat social posts and messages as unverified until the portal displays an updated file.
If the portal still shows the old mark after the correction window, WAEC advised candidates to contact online support or the Nigeria office for help with a verified change and to keep any receipts or proof of payment.
For students who see a changed mark that affects admission, move fast: print or save the updated PDF, get your school to confirm the change in writing, and present that proof to the admitting body for a swift update.
The Council said applicants can apply for digital certificates once results are final and that it will post advice on when corrected certificates or letters will be issued to those who need them for school or work.
Civic groups and some education voices say this episode shows a need for stronger audits of exam tech, clearer public checks, and step-by-step guides so candidates know what to do when problems arise.
For now, students and parents should follow a simple plan: recheck the portal, save a fresh PDF, inform your school, and keep receipts and copies of every message you send or receive about the change.
If your final printed result differs from the first copy you saw, keep both versions, ask your school for a written note explaining the change, and use those documents in any appeal or admission talk.
This public fix will be watched by schools, universities and employers that rely on WAEC marks, and it may push calls for clearer tech tests and open reports on what went wrong and why.
The Council’s move to correct the data is meant to limit harm and restore the right records, and it shows the trade-off between adding anti-cheat tools and the need to test them before they touch final results.