The Executive Director of Eduwatch, Kofi Asare, has revealed that deliberate efforts to ban the use of phones can help reduce poor academic performance and indiscipline in schools.
According to him, research has proven that students failed their West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) 2025 examinations, particularly in Mathematics, due to the overwhelming us of devices meant to aid academic research
“So, if we are deliberate in banning the use of mobile phones… it will also lead to much more discipline in our schools,” he spoke on TV3’s The Key Points on December 6, 2025
National Coordinator for the District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP), Nii Lante Vanderpuye, has attributed the decline in students’ performance in the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) to addiction to social media and poor reading culture.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, December 4, Nii Lante Vanderpuye noted that reading culture and study habits among students have been compromised by the growing obsession with digital platforms.
“I am not surprised by the result. As a nation, as parents and guardians, we have been taken in by modern trends and the technical innovations in our lives. Our children are not focusing enough on what will help them concentrate on their education. One of the things we must look at critically is how to reconcentrate their focus away from tablets and media, because it is making the children lazy,” he cautioned.
His comments come after this year’s WASSCE results showed a significant decline, raising concerns among education stakeholders. According to the provisional results released by WAEC, the percentage of students who failed Social Studies increased steeply from 9.55% in 2024 to 27.50% in 2025, representing a 188% increase.
The other core subjects, that is, Integrated Science and English Language, also saw a doubling of their previous failure rate. For Integrated Science, the failure rate increased by 8.93%; that is, the 2024 rate was 7.12%, and in 2025 it increased to 16.05%.
The failure rate for English Language also rose from 5.88% in 2024 to 12.86% in 2025. Core Mathematics recorded the sharpest decline, with the proportion of candidates who failed rising from 6.10% in 2024 to an alarming 26.77% in 2025—more than four times higher.
Consequently, only 48.73% of candidates achieved grades A1 to C6, a steep drop from the 66.86% recorded in 2024. In absolute terms, 209,068 candidates passed Core Maths, while 114,872 (26.77%) failed outright with an F9. Put simply, for every four students who sat for the exam, one failed Core Mathematics.
The core subjects are foundational: English, Mathematics, Integrated Science, and Social Studies are the backbone of Ghana’s education system. Failure in these means students lack the basic skills needed for higher education or employment.
The failure of core subjects by candidates this year comes with several major concerns career opportunities, social consequences, and the impact it is likely to have on the country’s economy.
Students with F9 grades or who failed in any of the core subjects now have their dreams of pursuing higher education, whether in Ghana or abroad, truncated. They will also be limited in securing many formal jobs, which will, in turn, create long-term barriers to social mobility.
However, the University of Ghana’s (UG) decision not to adjust its admission requirements for the 2025/2026 academic year has been criticized by Hamza Suhuyini, a member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) communication team.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, December 3, Hamza Suhuyini described the decision as “unacceptable,” noting that the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results show a sharp rise in Grade F9 failures across all four core subjects compared to 2024.
“The UG’s decision not to increase their cut-off point is extremely unacceptable. I think the universities need to be flexible. It is possible that this failure could be due to factors beyond the students themselves,” he said.
Just after the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) released the provisional 2025 WASSCE results, the University of Ghana, through a statement, directed its prospective applicants to check and update their records on its admission portal until December 5 at 5 pm.
The statement, dated November 29 and signed by the institution’s Director of Academic Affairs, Lydia Anowa Nyako-Danquah, advised applicants to revisit the portal and upload and do a final check for accuracy, particularly of their full names and date of birth, before the formal admission process begins.
The statement read, “Following the release of the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results, applicants for undergraduate admission to the University of Ghana (UG) are advised to log in again to the UG applications portal to: 1. Review the accuracy of entries, particularly: Full Name and Date of Birth; Examination records (Index Number, Exam Month, Exam Year)”.
UG advised students to be guided in their selection of programmes so they do not choose options they don’t qualify for. It also added that admissions are still open for applicants who wish to apply.
“Refer to the UG 2024/2025 entry cut-off aggregates for various programmes at and make realistic choices. Please note that applications for 2025/2026 admissions are still open, and interested persons may purchase e-vouchers at designated banks or through the USSD code 8879# on all mobile telecommunication networks”, UG noted.
After the WASSCE, some students buy admission forms before their WASSCE results are released. They apply using “awaiting results,” meaning they submit their details but leave the grades section blank.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Education Service (GES) has indicated that the results obtained by candidates who sat for the 2025 WASSCE reflect their true abilities. Speaking to the media on Monday, December 1, Daniel Fenyi of the GES Public Relations Unit noted that the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) cannot be blamed for the results, as they only assess what the candidates produce.
According to him, “Indeed, we perfectly agree, and not that we just agree, but we work closely with WAEC. We monitor, we supervise, we collaborate with them to conduct these examinations. And so it is not that we agree, that is actually the case, that the results you see are a true reflection of the competencies of our learners.
“You wouldn’t train your learners for three good years, take them through all the lessons, teach them, expose them to all the necessary books and content they have to be exposed to, only for them to churn out these results.”
