The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has released the results of the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates, with 61.54 per cent of candidates obtaining credits in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
The Head of WAEC’s Nigeria National Office, Amos Dangut, announced the results at a press briefing in Lagos on Wednesday.
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Mr Dangut said 1,200,514 candidates met the benchmark for admission to higher institutions, out of the 1,950,726 candidates who sat the examination nationwide.
He explained that this year’s examination was held between 24 April and 19 June.
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He said 102,708 examiners were engaged in the marking exercise held at 88 marking venues across the country between 2 July and 20 July.
“Today, I am happy to inform you that all the processes leading to the release of results have been completed. It is now my pleasure to announce the release of the results of candidates who sat the WASSCE for School Candidates, 2026 in Nigeria,” he said.
Candidates’ performance
According to WAEC, 1,959,668 candidates from 24,207 schools registered for the examination, while 1,950,726 eventually sat for the exercise. Of those who sat the examination, 953,459 (48.88 per cent) were male, while 997,267 (51.12 per cent) were female.
The examination body said 1,834,695 candidates, representing 94.05 per cent of those who sat the examination, have had their results fully processed and released.
However, the results of 116,031 candidates (5.95 per cent) are still being processed due to issues that are being resolved.
“Efforts are, however, being made to speedily complete the process and release the affected candidates’ results within a couple of days,” Mr Dangut said.
WAEC also disclosed that 1,687,378 candidates, representing 86.50 per cent of those who sat the examination, obtained credits and above in at least five subjects, irrespective of English Language and Mathematics.
Among candidates who obtained five credits, including English Language and Mathematics, 558,883 (28.65 per cent) were male, while 641,631 (32.89 per cent) were female.
Results withheld
The council said it withheld the results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59 per cent of the total candidates, over alleged involvement in examination malpractice.
Mr Dangut noted that the figure is lower than the 9.7 per cent recorded in the 2025 examination.
He attributed many of the reported malpractice cases to the increasing use of mobile phones in examination halls and organised cheating in some schools.
“All the cases are being investigated, and reports of the investigations will be presented to the appropriate Committee of the Council for consideration and final decisions,” he said.
He added that affected candidates would be informed of the committee’s decisions through their schools and can seek redress through WAEC’s malpractice complaints platform.
Special needs candidates
WAEC said 1,213 candidates with special needs registered for the examination.
The candidates comprised 137 visually impaired candidates, 491 with hearing impairment, 55 who were spastic and mentally challenged, and 41 physically challenged candidates.
Mr Dangut said all the candidates were adequately catered for during the examination, and their results have been released alongside those of other candidates.
Challenges
The WAEC boss identified logistics challenges, late registration by schools, rising inflation, and examination malpractice as some of the major difficulties encountered during the examination.
He said delays experienced during one of the major papers nearly affected Nigeria’s participation alongside other member countries, but were eventually resolved.
Mr Dangut also criticised rogue websites that sold fake examination questions to candidates and parents, saying some suspects had been arrested through collaboration with security agencies.
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He added that some supervisors and invigilators caught aiding examination malpractice would be sanctioned through the appropriate state ministries of education.
New result checking process
To check their results, WAEC said candidates are required to generate their result checker PINs online through the council’s digital certificate platform using their National Identification Number (NIN).
The council said it has discontinued issuing Smart Identity Cards containing result-checker PINs.
Candidates who exhaust their five free attempts will be able to purchase additional result-checker PINs from WAEC offices.
The council also said candidates whose results have been released can access them on the WAEC results portal within 12 hours and apply for their digital certificates, which will be available within 48 hours.
He added that hard copies of certificates will be ready within 90 days.
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