LAGOS, Nigeria – The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has temporarily shut down its online result-checking portal, www.waecdirect.org, citing "technical issues." The abrupt closure, which took place on Wednesday, has left thousands of candidates who sat for the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) unable to access their results.
The announcement was made via WAEC's official X (formerly Twitter) account, just days after the council released the 2025 WASSCE results. The notice stated: "WAEC hereby informs the general public that the result checker portal 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. Please bear with us."
The shutdown comes at a particularly sensitive time, as the 2025 WASSCE results have already generated significant public discourse. The results showed a steep decline in performance, with only 38.32% of candidates obtaining credits in five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics – the lowest pass rate in a decade. This has led to widespread public concern and calls for a deeper look into the state of Nigeria's education system.
The timing of the portal's shutdown has only added to the frustration of candidates and parents, with many taking to social media to express their discontent. Some have voiced concerns about the examination body's technical capabilities, while others speculate about the possibility of changes to the recently released scores once the portal is back online.
While WAEC has not disclosed the specific nature of the technical fault, the high volume of traffic from candidates rushing to check their results is a likely contributing factor. This is not the first time the examination body has faced online infrastructure challenges, as intermittent downtimes and slow response times have been reported in previous years during peak result-checking periods.
As the 24-hour restoration timeline provided by WAEC passes, candidates are advised to remain patient and monitor the council’s official communication channels for updates.