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President John Dramani Mahama has ordered a full investigation into the sharp decline in the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results, describing the situation as “mind-boggling.”
Speaking at the launch of the STEMBox initiative for primary schools, the President said the poor performance has become a major concern for government, parents, and the wider public. He revealed that he has directed the Minister of Education to analyse the examiners’ report to uncover the factors behind the drastic fall in student performance.
Mahama noted: “It has become an issue of great concern to the government, parents, and the public at large. I have asked the minister to do an analysis of the examiners’ report and try and decipher what could have gone so disastrously wrong. It is mind-boggling that with the same teachers and the same factors in play, just from one batch to another, one batch does so disastrously.”
The President’s directive follows WAEC’s confirmation of widespread poor performance, especially in Core Mathematics and Social Studies.
According to WAEC’s Head of Public Relations, John Kapi, Core Mathematics recorded the steepest decline. Passes from A1–C6 dropped from 305,132 in 2024 to 209,068 in 2025—a reduction of more than 96,000. The overall pass rate fell to 48.73%, leaving over half of candidates unable to meet the requirements for tertiary admission.
Chief examiners attributed the poor performance to candidate weaknesses rather than the exam structure. Students reportedly struggled with representing mathematical information in diagrams, solving real-life problems, constructing cumulative frequency tables, and interpreting data. In Social Studies, candidates found it difficult to explain government policies, analyse the impact of expensive funerals on national development, and discuss Ghana’s collaboration with UN agencies.
The Education Ministry is expected to present its findings after completing the analysis.
