WAEC Temporarily Shuts Down Result Checker Portal Amid Technical Glitch

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has temporarily shut down its online result checker portal, waecdirect.org, just three days after the release of the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results. The shutdown, attributed to technical difficulties, has caused concern among thousands of candidates eager to access their results.

The announcement was made on Wednesday evening around 6:44 PM WAT via WAEC’s official X (formerly Twitter) handle, @waecnigeria. In the statement, the Council assured the public that its technical team is working to restore the portal within 24 hours. WAEC appealed for patience from candidates and stakeholders, reaffirming its commitment to providing seamless access to examination results.

The disruption comes at a critical time, as the WASSCE plays a key role in determining students’ eligibility for tertiary education across West Africa. With over 1.8 million candidates registered for the 2025 examination, the temporary unavailability of the result checker has sparked frustration on social media, where many users have reported persistent access issues since early Wednesday.

This incident highlights the challenges facing WAEC as it continues its shift to digital platforms, including the Digital Certificate Platform launched in 2022 to enable online access and verification of certificates. Although the exact nature of the technical issue has not been disclosed, similar outages in the past have been linked to server overloads during peak traffic periods.

Education experts have pointed to the need for more resilient digital infrastructure to support Nigeria’s growing student population. WAEC’s prompt communication on social media is being seen as a positive step toward transparency, even as candidates await resolution and full restoration of services.