Following the release of the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results, political analyst Bayo Ayanga has absolved the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) of blame, citing instead what he described as a broader collapse in educational values and discipline among students and institutions.

The results, made public by the Head of WAEC’s Nigeria Office, Dr. Amos Dangut, revealed a sharp decline in performance. Of the 1,969,313 candidates who sat for the examination across 23,554 schools nationwide, only 754,545 candidates; representing 38.32 per cent, obtained at least five credits including English Language and Mathematics.

WAEC said it is working to release the outstanding results in the coming days.

This marks a significant drop from the 72.12 per cent recorded in 2024, representing a 33.8 per cent decline in overall performance.

While public reaction has included criticism of WAEC’s operational decisions particularly the serialisation of objective questions and the delay of the English Language paper, Ayanga insists the fault lies elsewhere.

Speaking on Frontline, a current affairs programme aired on Eagle 102.5FM Ilese-Ijebu on Tuesday, Ayanga pointed to the growing culture of indiscipline, rising malpractice especially in private schools, and digital distractions as the major contributors to the poor showing.

“The issue is not WAEC,” Ayanga said. “We are dealing with students who no longer take academics seriously. Social media has replaced their study time, and in many schools, malpractice is not just tolerated, it is organised.”

English Paper Not an excuse

He also addressed complaints surrounding the delayed English Language examination, which was rescheduled on the day of the paper after WAEC reportedly discovered a leak and changed the questions. The delay forced many students to write the exam late into the night, with reports emerging of candidates using candles and torchlights in poorly lit exam halls.

Recall that the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) In a press release issued from its Yaba, Lagos headquarters on May 28, 2025, acknowledged delays in the conduct of the English Language Paper 2 for the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School Candidates, attributing the disruption to logistical hurdles and security measures aimed at safeguarding the integrity of the exam.

The Council explained that while efforts to prevent examination leakage were successful, they inadvertently led to delays in administering the English Language paper, which was scheduled for the same day.

Ayanga, a thought leader, however, dismissed the idea that this significantly affected performance. “If they use candles to read, why can’t they use candles to write? The only one they wrote into the night was English. What about the other subjects—Mathematics, Geography, Literature—that were done in broad daylight?” he queried.

Defending WAEC’s introduction of serialised objective questions—a method where question orders are rearranged to prevent copying—Ayanga explained, “It’s not something strange. They just couldn’t cheat because number one in my paper might be number ten in yours.”

Beyond individual exams, Ayanga expressed concern about a systemic failure in Nigeria’s education sector, where integrity and merit are increasingly being replaced with shortcuts and compromise.

“The bigger problem is the environment we have created. We now raise students to depend on ‘runs’ and expo. The values of hard work, discipline and delayed gratification are being eroded rapidly,” he lamented.

Observers have linked this decline to broader decisions by regulatory bodies. In 2023, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) controversially reduced the minimum cut-off mark for university admissions to 140 out of 400—a move that was widely criticised as lowering standards to accommodate mass failure.

For Ayanga, such policy shifts send the wrong message. “When institutions lower standards instead of raising students to meet them, we are not solving the problem. We are only postponing the consequences,” he said.

With WAEC already battling issues ranging from exam integrity to resource constraints, Ayanga called on stakeholders—parents, schools, and government agencies—to redirect focus to foundational reforms.

“WAEC is only an assessment body. The real work is in the classroom, at home, and in how society defines success. Until we address those, we’ll keep seeing these kinds of results and blaming the wrong people,” he concluded.

As the conversation continues nationwide, educationists and policymakers alike are being urged to reflect not just on the statistics, but on the values that shape them.

CBT Looms: Another Test for Students and the System?

While concerns about traditional exam performance remain fresh, a new phase of assessment reform is already on the horizon one that could introduce fresh complications.

The Federal Government has announced plans to adopt computer-based testing (CBT) for the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) beginning in 2026, using both privately owned and public CBT centres across the country.

Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, disclosed this after observing a pilot run of the CBT SSCE conducted by the National Examination Council (NECO) at Sascon International School in Abuja.

According to him, the initiative aims to improve standardisation, reduce malpractice, and align Nigeria’s assessment model with global trends.

Yet, as the country prepares for this shift, a critical question lingers: if students struggled with the pen-and-paper format, will migrating to CBT improve performance or widen the learning gap?

Some argue that today’s students are tech-savvy and more adaptable to digital systems. Others raise concerns about infrastructure disparity, digital literacy, and anxiety over unfamiliar test formats especially in underserved schools.

Whether the CBT reform will enhance learning or introduce new challenges remains to be seen. But in a system already grappling with declining performance, the digital transition may test more than just academic knowledge, it may test the readiness of the education sector itself.