The West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Nigeria, has announced a significant shift in its examination format for the 2025 May/June West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School Candidates.
The new format will see each candidate receiving different questions in select papers as part of a broader strategy to tackle the growing menace of examination malpractice in Nigeria’s secondary school system.
The Head of National Office, WAEC Nigeria, Dr Amos Dangut, said the new format will apply to some subject codes in the 2025 examination.
“From this year, two candidates will not have the same questions on each number. We have adopted this innovation for some of the WASSCE codes,” he stated.
He issued a stern warning to candidates who may attempt to answer papers not assigned to them.
“Any candidate who chooses to write a paper other than the one assigned to him or her will be doing himself/herself a disservice and will bear the attendant consequences,” Dangut added.
According to the council, the May/June 2025 WASSCE will take place from April 24 to June 20, 2025.
Computer-Based WASSCE introduced
In addition to the question variation, WAEC has also launched its maiden Computer-Based WASSCE (CB-WASSCE) for school candidates, which will be optional for now.
According to Dangut, question sets for the CB-WASSCE will be preprinted based on individual registration details.
He explained that the innovation aligns with the Federal Government’s drive to digitise the education sector.
“The CB-WASSCE 2025 is thrown open, so schools that are ready will be given the opportunity to choose between traditional pen and paper examinations or the newly introduced CB-WASSCE in the forthcoming WAEC.
“The adoption of these current test administration techniques is geared towards upholding the academic and moral integrity of the National Policy on Education and in line with the vision of the Federal Ministry of Education,” he said.
Strict sanctions for exam malpractice
Dr Dangut restated WAEC’s zero-tolerance stance on examination malpractice. He warned school authorities, supervisors, and candidates to strictly adhere to the examination guidelines.
“Erring schools whose candidates engage in mass cheating will be derecognised; erring officials will be adequately punished, while erring candidates will be sanctioned if found culpable.”
“Every candidate and examination functionary should familiarise themselves with the rules guiding the conduct of the examination as stipulated in the WAEC Syllabus and Guidelines for the conduct of examinations, issued to schools,” he added.
He further assured the public that WAEC would continue to work closely with the Nigeria Police Force and state governments to ensure safe and malpractice-free exams.
“The Council remains grateful to state governments for their partnership and collaborative efforts throughout the conduct of WASSCE and in the Council’s ongoing war against the menace of Examination Malpractice.”
“The Council will decisively deal with examination malpractice of any kind as approved by the Nigeria Examinations Committee (NEC), being the highest decision-making organ of the Council that sits on examination matters in Nigeria.”
Exam enrollment details
According to the WAEC boss, the May/June 2025 WASSCE will involve 1,973,253 candidates from 23,554 schools across the country.
Of this figure, 979,228 are males (49.63%) and 994,025 are females (50.37%).
“On the role, the candidacy for this year increased by 158,627 candidates. They will be examined in 74 subjects, made up of 196 papers,” Dangut disclosed.
To manage the exercise, about 26,000 practicing senior secondary school teachers nominated by various Ministries of Education will serve as examination supervisors.
Dr Dangut warned parents to avoid patronising rogue website operators who peddle fake exam materials.
“Parents who patronise rogue website operators should desist from such, as the Council will collaborate with the Nigerian Police Force to bring perpetrators to book,” he warned.
WAEC also noted that it has carried out extensive stakeholder sensitisation through zonal and branch offices to inform school proprietors, teachers, and students about the reforms and associated penalties.
