‘We are planning to direct students who failed Mathematics to write this year’s WASSCE’ – Education Minister

Data published by WAEC indicates that 461,736 candidates participated in the 2025 WASSCE.

Among that total, 220,008 candidates did not pass Core Mathematics, which accounts for 50.54 per cent of all candidates. Only 48.73 per cent received grades ranging from A1 to C6.

No student is eligible to pursue tertiary education when he fails Mathematics at the SHS. This has made parents of the 2025 batch and the government worried because they have to spend extra cash to register their wards for resit.

On TV3’s New Day programme on Ghana’s 69th Independence celebration, the Education Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, disclosed that the government is planning to allow the 2025 year group that failed WASSCE to write with the 2026 group.

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

“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 disclosed.

The news has been received excitedly by students and parents because there is a huge opportunity for resit; however, the minister revealed that they are weighing the cost involved.

“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.”

The 2025 WASSCE results were not the worst in history, as students passed most of the subjects but failed in Mathematics.

“I don’t interfere with assessment institutions. It is the West African Examinations Council that conducts the examination,” Mr Iddrisu quashed the idea that the government interferes in the results of WASSCE just to convince students to vote for them.