The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has signalled a stern approach to combating exam malpractice, announcing the cancellation of subject results for 6,295 candidates who participated in the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School Candidates.

This mass sanction is one of the highest recorded in recent years, forming the centrepiece of a significant crackdown that also involves the prosecution of teachers and examination officials.

The sanctions were approved by the Ghana Examinations Committee at its 40th Meeting held on Wednesday, November 17, 2025, following the completion of investigations into various reported irregularities.

The integrity of the 2025 WASSCE—which saw a total of 461,736 candidates register across 1,021 schools —was seriously compromised by over 7,000 instances of malpractice that have now resulted in severe penalties.

The bulk of the cancellations was driven by candidates bringing unauthorized materials into the examination halls. Specifically:

• 6,295 candidates had their Subject Results Cancelled for bringing foreign materials, including prepared notes, textbooks, and printed materials, into the examination halls.
• An additional 653 candidates had their Entire Results Cancelled solely for the possession of mobile phones in the examination halls.

Beyond these immediate cancellations, WAEC confirmed that further investigations are ongoing:

• The Subject Results of 908 candidates and the Entire Results of 158 candidates have been withheld for various suspected offences.
• The subject results of candidates from 185 schools have been withheld for alleged collusion.

WAEC stated it is working to ensure these withheld results are published before the end of December 2025, pending the outcome of the investigations.

35 Persons, Including 19 Teachers, Face Justice

The misconduct was not limited to the students; WAEC’s probe also uncovered significant complicity among examination staff and teachers.

A total of 35 persons, 19 of whom are teachers, were found to have engaged in acts that compromised the integrity of the examination.

• Legal Action: So far, 19 of these individuals have been arraigned before court and convicted, receiving either fines or terms of imprisonment.
• Pending Cases: The remaining 16 persons are yet to be presented before the courts by the police.
• GES Referral: Beyond the courts, WAEC confirmed that the list of teachers implicated will be presented to the Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) for further disciplinary action.

Contextual Statistics

The 2025 WASSCE saw a 0.24% increase in entry figures over the 2024 total of 460,611. The total number of registrants included 207,415 males and 254,321 females. A total of 5,821 candidates, representing 1.26% of the total registrants, were absent from the examination.

Candidates who wish to access their provisional results may do so at the Council's website, www.waecgh.org. WAEC also cautioned stakeholders to be wary of fraudsters who promise to upgrade results for a fee, reminding candidates that results are secured and can be authenticated using its results verification system.