Amid growing outrage over the chaotic administration of the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in Nigeria, sources within the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) have revealed to SaharaReporters that fears of question paper leaks triggered a last-minute scramble. This disruption caused delays and forced students to take exams late into the night, with some reportedly held in their schools until midnight.
WASSCE is a standardised test administered by WAEC to assess the academic achievement of senior secondary school students in Anglophone West African countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and Liberia.
Sources disclosed that WAEC authorities abruptly scrapped previously communicated schedules without prior notice to examination supervisors. This sudden change left supervisors stranded, waiting for question papers that never arrived on time.
A source within WAEC explained:
“Supervisors were at their various centres on the day of the examination. That morning, it was not supposed to extend into the night, but we were all left uncertain, not knowing what was happening. We later learnt that WAEC suspected a leak of the examination questions, leading to the decision to reprint the papers.”
The source described the situation as an administrative failure, with students bearing the brunt of WAEC’s inability to secure the exam papers.
“Students suffered because WAEC had to reprint the questions, which caused hours of delay.”
SaharaReporters also gathered that the structure of the English Language examination was altered at the last minute.
“Normally, English is conducted in this order: essay, oral, and objectives. But due to the suspected leak, they changed it to objectives, oral, and essay.”
A WAEC supervisor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the chaotic situation:
“At my centre, I collected the oral paper around 5 p.m., and we finished by past 8 p.m. When I returned it, some supervisors were just getting theirs. In fact, some in Ejigbo Local Government Area of Lagos hadn’t received theirs by then.
Two centres—Lillyfield School and Oke-Afa Senior Comprehensive College, both public schools with around 180 students each—finished their exams close to midnight. One supervisor said he got home around 11:55 p.m.”
The source added that affected students were told to remain in school, unable to return home, while worried parents kept calling.
“A supervisor told me that in one school, the examination coordinator had to do a video call with parents to assure them that their children were safe.”
Despite the long hours, students had to sit for their Geography exam by 9:30 a.m. the following day.
When contacted by SaharaReporters, Moyosola Adesina, Acting Head of the Public Affairs Department of WAEC, declined to comment on the issue, stating that the matter was beyond her authority.
“I am not in a position to comment on the issues. It is now above me,” she said.
Her superior, who she said would be better positioned to address the matter, was unavailable at the time of filing this report.
Earlier, in a public statement, Adesina admitted that WAEC faced operational challenges that disrupted the timely distribution of examination materials.
“While maintaining the integrity and security of our examination, we faced considerable challenges primarily due to our major aim of preventing the leakage of any paper.
We recognise the importance of timely conduct of examinations and the impact of this decision on candidates, their schools, and parents, and we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
WAEC further acknowledged that despite their best efforts, they encountered logistical hurdles, security concerns, and socio-cultural factors that negatively affected operations.
Nigerians have since expressed deep disappointment over the conduct of the exams, particularly the instances where students were forced to sit for exams late into the night, using candles or torchlights.
Stay tuned to Alayo Radio TV for more updates on this developing story.