The Minister for Education, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, says the government is considering allowing some senior high school graduates who failed mathematics in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) to re-sit the paper so they can qualify for tertiary education.

According to him, preliminary information from the Ministry of Education indicates that about 30,000 students may have missed admission to tertiary institutions because they did not obtain the required pass in mathematics, even though they passed other subjects.

Mr Iddrisu made the remarks during a television interview on TV3’s New Day programme on Friday, March 6, 2026.

“I’m aware that about 30,000 students may not have been able to qualify for tertiary education because they were unable to pass maths or English,” he said.

He said the ministry is studying available data to determine the number of candidates affected, with particular attention to those who failed mathematics.

“We are trying to look at the cost implications and probably to direct that all those students who are unable to pass in mathematics be boarded on to write this year’s WASSCE maths so that they don’t stay at home longer,” Mr Iddrisu stated.

Mr Iddrisu explained that in many cases, students performed well in other subjects but were unable to meet entry requirements for tertiary education because of mathematics.

“In many cases, a particular student did well in every other subject except maths,” he said. “If you are not careful, you may destroy the career path of those young people.”
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He stressed that the conduct of examinations is the responsibility of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), not the Ministry of Education.

“I don’t interfere with assessment institutions. It is the West African Examinations Council that conducts the examination,” Mr Iddrisu said.

Figures released by WAEC show that 461,736 candidates sat the 2025 WASSCE.

Out of that number, 220,008 candidates failed Core Mathematics, representing 50.54 per cent of all candidates. Only 48.73 per cent obtained grades A1 to C6, the minimum pass usually required for admission into many tertiary programmes.

Mr Iddrisu said the ministry will continue discussions with the relevant institutions as it studies options to assist affected students while maintaining the integrity of the examination system.