The high failure rate has raised questions about the quality of instruction and student preparedness in public schools in Lagos.
Concerns as over 31,000 Lagos students fail 2024 WASSCE despite N1.5bn govt funding
No fewer than 31,000 students from public secondary schools in Lagos State have failed the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), triggering concerns over the state of education in Nigeria’s commercial capital.
The Lagos Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Jamiu Alli-Balogun, who spoke during the 2025 Ministerial Press Briefing in Alausa on Thursday, April 24, 2025, disclosed that 31,596 students failed the examination.
He presented the education sector’s scorecard of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration, revealing that the government had spent a total of ₦1,577,794,000 to cover examination fees for 58,188 bona fide students under its free education initiative.
However, more than half of the sponsored candidates failed the examination, despite the huge investment, sparking concerns about the quality of instruction and methods of student preparation in public schools in Lagos.