WAEC Withholds 167,486 2026 WASSCE Results Over Alleged Examination Malpractice

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has withheld the results of 167,486 candidates who participated in the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates over alleged cases of examination malpractice.

The withheld results represent 8.59 per cent of the 1,950,726 candidates who sat for the examination, indicating a slight improvement compared with the 9.7 per cent recorded in the 2025 WASSCE.

The Head of the WAEC National Office, Nigeria, Dr Amos Dangut, announced the development on Wednesday in Lagos during the official release of the 2026 WASSCE results.

Dangut said the affected results were withheld due to various forms of examination misconduct, including the persistent use of mobile phones by candidates inside examination halls despite the council’s ban, as well as organised cheating in some schools.

“The increasing use of cell phones in the examination hall, in spite of the existing ban, and organised cheating in some schools, are other nagging issues,” Dangut said.

He added that some supervisors and invigilators found assisting candidates to engage in malpractice had been arrested and would face sanctions through the relevant state ministries of education.

WAEC disclosed that 1,959,668 candidates from 24,207 schools across Nigeria, the Benin Republic, Côte d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea registered for the examination, while 1,950,726 candidates eventually sat for the papers.

The examination body announced that 1,200,514 candidates, representing 61.54 per cent, obtained credit passes in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.

Similarly, 1,687,378 candidates, representing 86.50 per cent, secured credit passes in at least five subjects, with or without English Language and Mathematics.

However, WAEC noted that the percentage of candidates who obtained five credits, including English Language and Mathematics, declined by 1.42 percentage points compared with the 2025 WASSCE.

The Council also revealed that 1,834,695 candidates, representing 94.05 per cent of those who sat for the examination, had their results fully processed and released.

Meanwhile, results of 116,031 candidates, representing 5.95 per cent, are still undergoing processing.

On gender participation, WAEC said 997,267 female candidates, representing 51.12 per cent, took part in the examination, while 953,459 male candidates accounted for 48.88 per cent.

The Council further disclosed that 1,213 candidates with special needs participated in the examination.

The candidates included 137 visually impaired persons, 491 candidates with hearing impairment, 55 spastic and mentally challenged candidates, and 41 physically challenged candidates.

Dangut explained that the 2026 WASSCE was the second edition of the computer-based examination for school candidates following the introduction of the new format.

He said WAEC deployed several innovations during the examination, including the Digital Examiner Mark System to enhance the speed of result processing, serialisation of question papers to minimise examination malpractice, and a new portal that allows candidates to generate e-PINs directly for checking results.

According to him, the examination was conducted from April 24 to June 19, 2026, with 102,708 examiners participating in the marking exercise across 88 marking centres.

Describing the briefing as his third and final appearance as Head of the WAEC National Office in Nigeria, Dangut also warned that candidates sponsored by state governments with outstanding examination fees would not have their results released until the debts were cleared.

He said the Council remained committed to maintaining the credibility of the WASSCE and ensuring that examination integrity was upheld across all participating countries.