The fate of 460,611 students who sat for the 2024 WASSCE hangs in the balance as the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has failed to release their results due to a GH₵118 million debt owed by the government.

WAEC’s Public Relations Officer, John Kapi, explained that the council has exhausted all its financial buffers and cannot proceed without the overdue payment.

“We’ve used every little resource we had to sustain operations. So this time around, we have nothing to fall on, and that's the reason we are asking that this money be paid so they'll be able to continue their work, “ he said.

The delay has caused widespread anxiety among students awaiting their results to meet upcoming university application deadlines. Many fear that prolonged delays could disrupt their academic plans, with some expressing frustration and confusion over the situation.

In an interview with JoyNews, they said:

“The current situation about our results is something that is making us worried and anxious. The results have not yet been released, which means that our whole academic life is stagnant. Now, without the results, we can't continue or climb up the academic ladder, so I feel like the government should do anything possible to make sure that our results are released.

Another added, “The results are supposed to be released before next year, so we will know the schools that chose us, but if they want to release it next year, there is going to be a lot of pressure, like a whole lot of drama.”

The Executive Secretary of Vice Chancellors’ Ghana, Dr Cynthia Kpeglo also raised concerns about the potential academic chaos this could cause if the issue is not resolved promptly.

"Once the academic calendar is affected, teaching and learning are affected, and restructuring the whole programme to benefit them may be a difficult task because it also has financial implications, and more. So it also means that they will not have the full coverage of academic work knowledge that they should have before completing school.

"Whatever it is that is causing this challenge, we need to address them, we need to attend to them," she said.

Students and stakeholders are calling on the government to urgently settle the debt to prevent further disruptions to the educational calendar.