President Mahama reacts to 2025 WASSCE results

President John Dramani Mahama has stated that he has tasked the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, to study the examiners’ report on the 2025 WASSCE results following its release.

This comes after a nationwide low performance by candidates, with many failing key subjects such as core mathematics and social studies.

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Speaking on Thursday, December 4, 2025, the president reiterated that vigilance and oversight during examinations would remain in place to eliminate any possibility of exam malpractice, urging student empowerment to study independently and succeed in their exams.

“... Vigilance is not going to go away. Strict invigilation is not going to go away and so we must make sure that the children are well prepared to be on their own be able to study and pass the exams that are waiting for them.

“I've asked the minister and he's told the director general of the GES to study the examiners report and let's see what quick reforms we can carry out in order that our children get a quality education,” he said.

President Mahama further expressed surprise at how students from the same school system, taught by the same teachers, can perform so differently from one person to another, suggesting that there is an underlying problem that needs to be addressed.

He noted that basic learning among children appears to have been neglected, particularly in terms of funding and support.

“It is mind boggling that with the same teachers, the same factors in play, and just from one batch to another, one batch does so disastrously and so we need to get to the bottom of it. It also emphasises the issue of foundational learning.

"One of the major things that has taken place in the last several years is the neglect of basic education, inability to send the capitation grants ensuring that we have quality teachers at a foundational basic level because it is that level that prepares the child for secondary and tertiary education. Once you don't get that level right, you will just send the child through a conveyor belt like a factory,” Mahama noted.

He continued to say that, “And when it comes out at the end, it will be picked out by quality control and said that this one did not do well. Our focus must be on foundational learning which means that by the time the child reaches primary school, he should be able to read properly, write properly, and should be able to do basic arithmetic.”

President John Dramani Mahama stressed that this foundation will help students progress confidently into higher education without any struggles.

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“If we're able to get our children to get these three things right: writing, reading, and arithmetic, then they have the foundation to continue into secondary education, otherwise, it will be a factory that is just pushing them through and pushing them through and at the end of it, you have the situation where a child finishes basic school and sometimes still finds it difficult to write his name,” he added.



MAG/AE

Meanwhile, watch some videos from the NPP's 2025 Constitution Amendment