Far from being a crisis, the author frames this issue as a wake‑up call
The 2025 WASSCE results, which have gone viral online, have triggered widespread debate. While many are rightly concerned, these figures should not push the nation into panic. Instead, they offer a clearer picture of where our education system stands and where collective effort is required.
Mathematics recorded the sharpest decline—from 66.86% in 2024 to 48.73% in 2025—with more than 114,000 F9s. Because Mathematics is a gateway subject, weaknesses here affect students’ ability to progress in engineering, ICT, health sciences, architecture, and vocational careers. When Maths drops, the entire STEM pipeline feels it.
Integrated Science also fell from 66.82% in 2023 to 57.74% in 2025. A weak scientific base limits national progress in biotechnology, climate adaptation, digital transformation, modern agriculture, and industrialisation.
Social Studies declined from 76.76% in 2023 to 55.82% in 2025, leaving more than 122,000 students behind. This subject shapes civic values, ethics, national identity, and critical reasoning.
English Language, however, remained relatively stable.
GES Responds: Stronger Protocols, Stronger Integrity
GES has clarified that the 2025 WASSCE reflects tighter supervision, stricter examination protocols, and a crackdown on malpractice. Before the exams, the Ministry of Education and GES warned that any teacher or official involved in cheating would face severe sanctions—a directive that was vigorously enforced.
The result was the apprehension of students and staff who attempted to cheat. According to GES, this demonstrates a positive shift toward restoring exam integrity, not mismanagement.
Importantly, GES notes that no teacher allowances were cancelled and urges the public to ignore misinformation.
GES also reminds the public that Ghana is transitioning to the international WASSCE format in May/June 2026, urging schools to prepare adequately.
A Necessary Reset to Improve Future Learning
If the decline in pass rates is partly the result of strict protocols and reduced opportunities for malpractice, then it may actually represent a positive correction. When students pass exams through genuine learning—not shortcuts—it strengthens the nation in the long run.
A system that hides weaknesses through cheating cannot produce the quality graduates Ghana needs to lead in technology, governance, health, industry, and national development. It is better to confront the truth now than to produce students who are unprepared for the responsibilities ahead.
The Way Forward: A Calm, Strategic Learning Recovery Plan
Improving teacher support, identifying learning gaps early, strengthening supervision, resourcing science and maths adequately, and getting parents more involved can help reverse these trends.
These viral results may look like a national failure, but they are not. They simply remind us that Ghana must pay closer attention to how children are learning, not just how they are examined.
It is not a crisis.
It is a wake-up call — and Ghana is awake.
Copyright © 1994 - 2025 GhanaWeb. All rights reserved.
