- WAEC released 2026 WASSCE results on Wednesday, with over 1.9 million candidates sitting the Computer-Based examination across four countries
- Female candidates who scored credits in both English and Maths outnumbered their male counterparts, with 641,631 females compared to 558,883 males
- WAEC withheld the results of 167,486 candidates over alleged malpractice, a figure that includes arrests of supervisors who aided cheating
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has released the results of its 2026 Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates, with female students pulling ahead of males in the combined credit pass rate for English Language and Mathematics.
The Head of WAEC’s Nigeria National Office, Dr Amos Dangut, announced the results in Lagos on Wednesday, July 23, 2026, describing the briefing as his third and final official engagement in that role.
Source: UGC
Performance breakdown
A total of 1,959,668 candidates from 24,207 schools registered for the exam across Nigeria, Benin Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, and Equatorial Guinea, with 1,950,726 eventually sitting the examination.
Of those who sat, 1,200,514 candidates, representing 61.54 per cent, obtained credits and above in at least five subjects including English Language and Mathematics.
A wider group of 1,687,378 candidates, or 86.50 per cent, secured credits in five subjects with or without those two core papers.
Among the 1.2 million candidates who passed with credits in both English and Mathematics, 641,631, or 32.89 per cent, were female, while 558,883, or 28.65 per cent, were male. Overall female participation stood at 997,267 candidates, compared to 953,459 males. The combined credit pass rate in English and Maths dropped by 1.42 percentage points compared to the 2025 examination.
WAEC said 1,834,695 candidates, representing 94.05 per cent, had their results fully processed and released, while 116,031 results, or 5.95 per cent, were still being processed at the time of the announcement.
Malpractice and withheld results
The council withheld the results of 167,486 candidates, equal to 8.59 per cent of those who sat the examination, over alleged malpractice. Dangut said the figure was lower than the 9.7 per cent recorded in 2025.
“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 supervisors and invigilators caught assisting candidates had been arrested and would face disciplinary action through the relevant state ministries of education. Dangut also noted that results of candidates sponsored by states with outstanding payments to the council would remain unreleased until those debts were cleared.
Among the 1,950,726 who sat the examination were 1,213 candidates with special needs, including 137 visually impaired candidates, 491 with hearing impairment, 55 described as spastic and mentally challenged, and 41 who are physically challenged.
The 2026 sitting marks the second edition of the Computer-Based WASSCE format. WAEC said it introduced new measures including the Digital Examiner Mark System, serialisation of question papers, and a portal allowing candidates to generate e-PINs to check their results. The examination ran from April 24 to June 19, 2026, with 102,708 examiners involved across 88 marking venues.
Reason WAEC withheld 2026 WASSCE results
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) withheld the results of 167,486 candidates who sat the 2026 Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates, citing widespread examination malpractice.
The Head of the WAEC Nigeria National Officse, Dr Amos Dangut, made the announcement on Wednesday in Lagos during the official release of the results. The figure accounts for 8.59 per cent of the 1,950,726 candidates who sat the examination, though it marks a drop from the 9.7 per cent recorded in 2025.
Source: Legit.ng