The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) faced renewed criticism on Wednesday evening following the unexpected shutdown of its result checker portal, waecdirect.org, which left thousands of anxious candidates unable to access their 2025 WASSCE results.
In a brief statement released via its official X (formerly Twitter) handle, @waecnigeria, the examination body cited “technical issues” as the reason for the disruption.
“WAEC hereby informs the general public that the result checker portal @waecdirect.org is temporarily shut down due to technical issues. However, the Council is working assiduously to ensure that candidates are able to access their results in the next 24 hours. We apologise for any inconvenience this might have caused,” the notice read.
The announcement comes at a particularly sensitive time, as WAEC is already grappling with public outrage over the dismal performance of candidates in this year’s exam, especially in English Language, where a significant number of students reportedly failed.
Earlier in the week, WAEC revealed that only 38.32 per cent of the 1,969,313 candidates who sat for the 2025 examination obtained credit passes in five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics, marking the lowest pass rate in a decade.
The timing of the portal crash has only fuelled speculation, with many Nigerians questioning the credibility of the results and calling for an independent review of English Language grading. Social media platforms were flooded with reactions ranging from frustration to allegations of systemic failure.
Some candidates claimed the delay in the English Language exam, allegedly written at night in some centres, contributed to poor outcomes, while others suggested the website crash could be linked to a possible reevaluation or behind-the-scenes adjustments.
Despite mounting pressure, WAEC has not issued further clarification on either the grading system or the status of the website, leaving both candidates and parents in a state of uncertainty.
IMPORTANT NOTICE pic.twitter.com/Xa31xIU6Kq
— WAEC NIGERIA (@waecnigeria) August 6, 2025
WAEC hereby informs the general public that the result checker portal @waecdirect.org is temporarily shutdown due to technical issues.
— WAEC NIGERIA (@waecnigeria) August 6, 2025
However, the Council is working assiduously to ensure that candidates are able to access their results in the next 24 hours.
Please bear with us.
Kindly ignore any message listing schools whose results were supposedly cancelled. Meanwhile, WAEC will never ask any centre to bring scripts of candidates to the office. Where would they get them from?
— WAEC NIGERIA (@waecnigeria) August 5, 2025
Do not accept any message that is not on our handles and accredited media.
The West African Examinations Council is pleased to inform candidates who sat WASSCE for School Candidates, 2025 that the result has officially been released today, Monday, August 4, 2025.
— WAEC NIGERIA (@waecnigeria) August 4, 2025
To access the result, log on to https://t.co/resXV2sZd5.
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