Was WAEC testing students… or testing its new system on students?

B By Olasunkanmi Opeifa

You release results. Students cry! Parents panic! Schools blame teachers!

And then, three days later, WAEC says — “Sorry o, na glitch.” Maybe, they meant to say prank or better still scam.

This is not a game. This is sheer gambling with the future of close to 2 million Nigerian candidates — and twice as many parents — thrown into avoidable trauma. It is an economic disruption, a mental health burden, and a credibility disaster rolled into one.

WAEC’s press release admits to “technical bugs” discovered after results went live. The so-called innovation — paper serialization — was meant to curb malpractice but became the real malpractice. It collapsed exactly where it mattered most: at the results pipeline.

What likely went wrong?

Mapping mismatch bug — Candidate IDs, paper versions, and marking schemes misaligned. Imagine Version A answers graded with Version B’s key.

Backend integration failure — Data from marking centers or AI grading tools mishandled or overwritten during compilation.

Inadequate testing — No large-scale User Acceptance Testing, no edge-case checks, no safe dry-run before release.

Zero contingency planning — No pilots, no backup verification, no clear communication if things went wrong.

This is not just a tech lapse. This is leadership and accountability failure. You don’t experiment with millions of children’s futures without due diligence, stakeholder buy-in, and safety nets.

And I must ask:

If the public had kept quiet, would WAEC have admitted this?

How many “bugs” have quietly eaten past results without our knowledge?

What does this do to Nigeria’s credibility in the global education space, where these results are part of our international academic currency?

And who releases result before a high-level "post-review"?

The world is watching. These results aren’t just numbers; they are part of the scorecard that shapes our image internationally. Every mishap like this chips away at our credibility.

Our exams are not beta tests. They are lifelines to futures. Let us stop this sheer gambling with what we cannot afford to lose.