The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) on November 29, 2025, released the provisional results for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School Candidates, triggering a national education concern. The results unveil a catastrophic decline in academic performance across all four core subjects, marked by a worrying surge in outright failure rates (Grade F9), alongside an unprecedented crackdown on widespread examination malpractice.

An analysis of the official data confirms a sharp reversal of gains made in previous years, casting a shadow over the performance of the 461,736 candidates who registered from 1,021 schools. The most dramatic drop was recorded in the mandatory numeracy and humanities subjects. The percentage of candidates who failed Core Mathematics outright (Grade F9) has nearly quadrupled, rising from 6.10% in 2024 to an alarming 26.77% in 2025. Consequently, the pass rate (A1-C6) for Core Mathematics plummeted from 66.86% in 2024 to just 48.73% in 2025, meaning 114,872 candidates received an F9 grade.

Similarly, the F9 failure rate for Social Studies has almost tripled in a single year, climbing from 9.55% in 2024 to 27.50% in 2025. This significant decline led to only 55.82% of candidates achieving grades A1 to C6, down from 71.53% in 2024, with 122,449 candidates failing outright. Even the core literacy and science subjects saw their F9 failure rates more than double: Integrated Science’s F9 rate increased from 7.12% in 2024 to 16.05% in 2025, while English Language’s F9 rate rose from 5.88% in 2024 to 12.86% in 2025. Their respective pass rates (A1-C6) also saw declines, with Integrated Science dropping from 58.77% to 57.74% and English Language from 69.52% to 69.00%.

Beyond academic performance, the release of the provisional results was marred by an unprecedented crackdown on examination malpractice. The Ghana Examinations Committee, at its 40th Meeting on November 17, 2025, approved severe sanctions against thousands of candidates and dozens of educational personnel following investigations into various reported irregularities. A total of 6,295 candidates had their subject results annulled for bringing unauthorized materials like notes, textbooks, and printed material into the examination hall. Furthermore, the entire results of 653 candidates were cancelled for the possession of mobile phones in the examination hall.

Investigations are still ongoing for other suspected offenses, leading to the withholding of subject results for 908 candidates and the entire results for 158 candidates. Additionally, the subject results of candidates from 185 schools have been withheld due to alleged collusion. WAEC has stated its commitment to publishing these withheld results before the end of December 2025, pending the outcome of these ongoing investigations.

The integrity crisis also extended to examination officials and teachers. WAEC’s probe uncovered significant complicity, with 35 persons, including 19 teachers, found to have engaged in acts that compromised the examination's integrity. Legal action has already commenced, with 19 of these individuals arraigned before court and convicted, receiving either fines or terms of imprisonment. The remaining 16 persons are yet to be presented before the courts. WAEC also confirmed that the list of teachers implicated will be presented to the Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) for further disciplinary action.

In terms of entry statistics, the 2025 WASSCE saw a total of 461,736 candidates register from 1,021 schools, representing a slight 0.24% increase over the 2024 figure. The registrants included 207,415 males (44.92%) and 254,321 females (55.08%), with 5,821 candidates (1.26%) recorded as absent. Candidates can access their provisional results on the Council's website, www.waecgh.org. WAEC cautioned stakeholders to be wary of fraudsters who promise to upgrade results for a fee, emphasizing that results are secured and verifiable through its verification system.