By: Abdulraheem Muhammed
Claim:
A viral press release circulating on WhatsApp and social media platforms claims that the Federal Ministry of Education, in collaboration with WAEC, has cancelled the 2025 WAEC examinations nationwide due to widespread exam malpractice, question leakage, and AI-aided cheating.
Verdict:
False! Both the Federal Ministry of Education and the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) have officially debunked the press release, affirming that the 2025 WAEC examinations were successfully concluded and have not been cancelled.
Full Text:
A purported press release dated Saturday, 19th July, 2025, surfaced online and quickly went viral on WhatsApp and other social media platforms. It alleged that due to widespread examination malpractice and use of AI-enhanced cheating tools, the Federal Ministry of Education had cancelled all WAEC exams held between May 6 and July 18, and that new dates would be announced in August.
The statement attributed the cancellation to findings by a supposed “National Academic Integrity Task Force,” which reportedly uncovered massive irregularities, including leaked exam papers, compromised officials, and over 480 flagged centers.
The document appeared to carry an official tone and bore the Ministry’s name, misleading many into believing its authenticity.
However, this claim is entirely fabricated.
Verification:
When FactcheckAfrica compared the viral press release to official press releases from the Federal Ministry of Education and WAEC revealed stark discrepancies:
On 20th July 2025, the Federal Ministry of Education released an official press statement refuting the cancellation claim. The ministry described the document as “fake news” and clarified that the 2025 WAEC examinations concluded successfully, with only a few isolated incidents of malpractice that were promptly addressed.
In a separate statement released the same day, WAEC Nigeria affirmed that:
The viral statement did not originate from the Council. The WAEC exams have not been cancelled.
Marking of scripts is currently ongoing, and results will be released on or before Monday, 5th August 2025. Both institutions emphasised that all official updates are shared only through verified websites and social media handles.
While the document originated anonymously, it was widely circulated via: WhatsApp groups related to education, secondary school forums, and parent associations.
Multiple Facebook pages and Telegram channels shared the unverified document without fact-checking.
Conclusion:
The viral press release claiming the cancellation of 2025 WAEC examinations is false and misleading. It did not originate from any official source and has been debunked by both the Federal Ministry of Education and WAEC.
This misinformation has the potential to cause panic among students and parents. Social media users are strongly advised to verify sensitive educational updates through official platforms before resharing.
