Mahama Orders Investigation Into Poor 2025 WASSCE Performance

President John Dramani Mahama has raised alarm over the sharp decline in the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), calling the drop in performance “mind-boggling.”

Speaking at the launch of the STEMBox initiative for primary schools, the President said the poor results are a major concern for the government, parents, and the public.

He revealed that he has directed the Minister of Education to conduct a comprehensive review of the examiners’ report to identify the causes behind the significant dip in student performance.

“It is concerning that with the same teachers and conditions, one batch performs so disastrously compared to another. I have asked the minister to analyze the examiners’ report and decipher what went so wrong,” President Mahama stated.

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) reported notable declines in key subjects, particularly Core Mathematics and Social Studies. Core Mathematics saw the steepest fall, with A1–C6 passes dropping from 305,132 in 2024 to 209,068 in 2025—a decline of over 96,000 passes. Overall, the pass rate fell to 48.73%, leaving more than half of candidates below the grades required for tertiary education.

Chief examiners attributed the poor performance not to the exams themselves but to weaknesses in candidates’ skills. Students struggled with interpreting mathematical information in diagrams, solving real-life problems, constructing cumulative frequency tables, and analyzing data. In Social Studies, many candidates found it difficult to explain government policies, discuss the impact of costly funerals on national development, and elaborate on Ghana’s cooperation with United Nations agencies.