Mahama Orders Investigation Into Sharp Decline in 2025 WASSCE Performance

President John Dramani Mahama has voiced strong concern over the sharp fall in the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results, calling the situation “hard to comprehend.”

Speaking during the launch of the STEMBox programme for primary schools, he noted that the disappointing performance has become a pressing issue for government, parents, and the wider public.

The President revealed that he has tasked the Minister of Education with conducting a thorough assessment of the examiners’ report to uncover the real reasons behind the dramatic drop in student performance.

“It is a matter of serious worry for government, parents, and everyone. I discussed it with the minister and asked for a detailed analysis of the examiners’ report to find out what could have gone so terribly wrong.

“It is baffling that with the same teachers and similar conditions, one cohort would perform so poorly compared to the previous one,” Mahama said.

His concerns follow a report from the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), which indicated that students performed badly in key subjects, especially Core Mathematics and Social Studies.

According to WAEC’s Head of Public Relations, John Kapi, Core Mathematics saw the most significant drop, with A1–C6 passes falling from 305,132 in 2024 to 209,068 in 2025—representing a decline of over 96,000. The overall pass rate reduced to 48.73%, meaning more than half of the candidates did not achieve the grades needed for admission into tertiary institutions.

Chief examiners clarified that the poor results were not due to the exam’s difficulty but stemmed from students’ weaknesses.

They cited challenges in areas such as translating mathematical information into diagrams, tackling real-life application questions, preparing cumulative frequency tables, and interpreting data. For Social Studies, students struggled to explain government policies, assess the negative effects of extravagant funerals on national development, and discuss Ghana’s partnerships with United Nations agencies.