The notable drop in performance on the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) has deeply alarmed President John Dramani Mahama, who called the development “mind-boggling.” Speaking at the launch of the STEMBox programme for elementary schools, the President stated that the public, parents, and government are all very concerned
Mahama revealed that in order to identify the root causes of the dramatic decline in student performance, he has directed the Minister of Education to conduct a thorough analysis of the examiners’ report.
The government, parents, and the general public are now quite concerned about it. During our conversation, I requested the minister to analyse the examiners’ report and attempt to figure out what might have gone so horribly wrong.
President Mahama said, “It is mind-boggling that with the same teachers, the same factors in play just from one batch to another, one batch does so disastrously.”
His remarks come after the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) revealed that applicants did poorly in important areas, namely Social Studies and Core Mathematics.
Core Mathematics saw the biggest dip, with A1–C6 passes falling from 305,132 in 2024 to 209,068 in 2025—a decrease of more than 96,000 passes, according to John Kapi, Head of Public Relations at WAEC. Over half of the candidates were unable to obtain the marks necessary for postsecondary education, as the overall pass percentage dropped to 48.73%.
Chief examiners blamed the dismal results on the candidates’ shortcomings rather than the exam’s quality.
They emphasised challenges in areas including creating cumulative frequency tables, understanding data, addressing real-world situations, and communicating mathematical knowledge in diagrams. In Social Studies, applicants found it difficult to examine Ghana’s collaboration with UN organisations, analyse the effects of expensive funerals on national development, and explain government policies.