WAEC Blames Weak School Facilities, Teacher Shortage for Students’ Poor Performance

The Head of the Nigeria National Office of the West African Examinations Council, Dr Amos Dangut, has called for urgent improvements in the quality of teachers and learning facilities across schools to improve students’ academic performance in public examinations.

Dangut made the call during the 74th annual national council meeting of WAEC, where concerns were raised over the declining performance of Nigerian students compared to their counterparts in other West African countries.

According to him, the strong performance recorded by students from Ghana in the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination has exposed critical gaps in Nigeria’s education system, particularly in the areas of qualified teaching personnel and adequate learning infrastructure.

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Three Ghanaian students emerged as the overall best candidates among more than 2.6 million candidates who sat for the examination across member countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia.

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Dangut questioned whether Nigerian schools have enough qualified teachers, well-equipped laboratories, and conducive learning environments capable of supporting effective teaching and learning.

He explained that WAEC’s responsibility is to provide examination statistics and performance data, while policymakers and education managers are expected to use the information to improve the education sector.

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The WAEC boss also referenced the 2025 WASSCE results in Nigeria, revealing that out of 1,969,313 candidates who sat for the examination, only 754,545 obtained credits in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics. This represents 38.32 percent of the total number of candidates.

He noted that the figures highlight the urgent need for stakeholders to address challenges affecting education delivery in the country.

Education experts have repeatedly linked poor performance in public examinations to inadequate facilities, a shortage of qualified teachers, and weak learning environments in many schools across Nigeria