The future of thousands of 2025 WASSCE candidates hangs in the balance after the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) withheld or cancelled an extraordinary 146,137 results across the four compulsory core subjects.
The affected subjects—English Language, Mathematics, Integrated Science and Social Studies—are the very ones used for university admission, meaning that the scale of withheld results has immediate consequences for the country’s tertiary admissions cycle.
This year, a total of 461,736 candidates registered for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination, but 5,821, representing 1.26%, were absent, leaving 455,915 candidates who actually sat for the papers.
Yet none of the core subjects recorded released results that approached this figure.
In every subject, tens of thousands of candidates had no results available, pointing to withheld scripts, cancelled papers or pending investigations for examination irregularities.
Integrated Science recorded the highest number of affected candidates, with 73,503 results either withheld or cancelled.
This became evident when WAEC published only 382,412 Science results across all grade categories, instead of the 455,915 candidates who sat for the subject.
Within the released figures, 220,806 candidates, representing 57.74%, secured the university-admissible grades of A1 to C6.
A further 54,580 candidates had D7, 45,783 recorded E8, and 61,243 ended up with F9.
73,000 Integrated Science results withheld or cancelled
These numbers, when combined, show that more than 73,000 candidates currently have no Science result available for use as they await the outcome of WAEC’s investigations.
35,145 English Language results withheld or cancelled
English Language followed with the second-highest number of withheld or cancelled results, totalling 35,145.
WAEC released 420,770 English results in all, made up of 289,673 candidates securing A1 to C6, while 37,712 were graded D7, 39,091 obtained E8, and 54,294 were graded F9.
These figures fall sharply below the total number of candidates who sat for the exams, confirming that more than 35,000 English Language scripts remain locked out of the results system pending further action.
Given that English is a mandatory requirement for nearly all university programmes, the absence of a result in this single subject automatically disqualifies candidates from applying.
26,839 Mathematics results withheld or cancelled
Mathematics, which has long been regarded as the most challenging core subject for many candidates, recorded 26,839 withheld or cancelled results.
WAEC was able to release only 429,076 mathematics results. Out of this figure, 209,068 candidates achieved grades A1 to C6, representing 48.73%.
The remaining released grades comprised 52,991 candidates with D7, 52,145 with E8 and 114,872 with F9.
The gap between the number of candidates who sat the exam and the number of results released confirms that over 26,000 candidates currently have no access to their Mathematics results, placing them directly at risk of missing the ongoing university admissions window.
10,650 Social Studies results withheld or cancelled
Social Studies recorded the lowest but still significant number of withheld or cancelled results, totaling 10,650.
WAEC released 445,265 Social Studies results, made up of 248,538 candidates scoring A1 to C6, 33,670 receiving D7, 40,608 obtaining E8 and 122,449 receiving F9.
Even here, the shortfall between released results and the total number of candidates shows that more than ten thousand candidates are still waiting to know their fate.
Beyond the withheld and pending cases, WAEC confirmed a number of outright cancellations.
The entire results of 653 candidates have been cancelled for possession of mobile phones inside examination halls, a violation the Council has repeatedly warned against.
Another 6,295 candidates had their subject results cancelled for entering the hall with foreign materials such as prepared notes and printed answers.
Additionally, the subject results of 908 candidates have been placed on hold pending investigations, while the entire results of 158 candidates have also been withheld until their cases are resolved.
WAEC further announced that scripts from 185 schools have been withheld due to suspected mass cheating, known in examination terms as “collusion.” Investigations into these school-based cases are still underway.
The consequences of these withheld and cancelled results are severe.
Public universities have already opened their admission portals and have given candidates a limited timeframe within which to submit their applications.
Students who do not have access to their full WASSCE results cannot apply at all, regardless of how well they might have performed.
WAEC has indicated that some withheld results may be released by the end of December 2025, depending on the speed and outcome of ongoing investigations.
However, by that time, most universities would have concluded their admissions process, filled their available spaces and closed their portals.
This means that the over 146,000 affected candidates, even if they eventually receive valid grades, will almost certainly miss the 2025/2026 academic year.
Unless institutions decide to extend their deadlines—which appears unlikely—these students will be forced to wait until the next admission cycle in 2026.
For many families who have invested heavily in their children’s education, and who were preparing to transition them to university this year, the delay comes with emotional, academic and financial costs.
The scale of withheld and cancelled results also raises broader questions about the integrity of the examination process, the adequacy of supervision, and the growing sophistication of malpractice in many schools.
WAEC insists that the measures taken are necessary to protect the credibility of the examination and ensure fairness for all candidates.
However, with more than 146,000 young people now caught in uncertainty, the repercussions will reverberate through households across the country for months to come.
