WAEC releases 2026 WASSCE results as 61.54% secure five credits including English, Maths

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has released the results of the 2026 Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School Candidates, with 1,200,514 candidates obtaining credits in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.

Announcing the results in Lagos on Wednesday, the Head of WAEC Nigeria National Office, Dr. Amos Josiah Dangut, said the figure represents 61.54 per cent of candidates who sat the examination, a decline of 1.42 percentage points compared to the 2025 results.

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

The council disclosed that 1,687,378 candidates, representing 86.50 per cent, obtained credits and above in at least five subjects, irrespective of whether they passed English Language and Mathematics.

Of the 1,200,514 candidates who obtained five credits, including English and Mathematics, 558,883 were male, representing 28.65 per cent, while 641,631 were female, accounting for 32.89 per cent.

Overall, 953,459 male candidates, representing 48.88 per cent, and 997,267 female candidates, representing 51.12 per cent, participated in the examination.

WAEC also announced that 1,834,695 candidates, representing 94.05 per cent of those who sat the examination, have had their results fully processed and released, while the results of 116,031 candidates, representing 5.95 per cent, are still being processed.

The council revealed that 1,213 candidates with special needs registered for the examination, including 137 visually impaired candidates, 491 with hearing impairment, 55 candidates with spastic and mental disabilities, and 41 physically challenged candidates.

On examination malpractice, WAEC disclosed that it withheld the results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59 per cent, over alleged involvement in examination malpractice. The council noted that the figure is lower than the 9.70 per cent recorded in 2025.

Dr. Dangut attributed many of the malpractice cases to the increasing use of mobile phones in examination halls despite existing bans, as well as organised cheating in some schools.

He added that supervisors and invigilators found aiding examination malpractice had been apprehended and would face appropriate sanctions through their respective State Ministries of Education.

The WAEC boss also highlighted several innovations introduced during the examination, including the Digital Examiner Marking System (DEMS) to speed up result processing, serialisation of question papers to curb malpractice, and a new online portal that enables candidates to generate electronic PINs for result checking.

He announced that candidates can now apply for their digital certificates within 48 hours of checking their results through the WAEC Direct portal.

WAEC further disclosed that registration for the 2026 Second Series WASSCE for Private Candidates is ongoing at a fee of ₦37,500, with provisions also made for walk-in candidates.

The council said compiled WAEC past questions and answers are now available for purchase at ₦5,200 per subject combination.

Candidates can check their results online within 12 hours through the WAEC Direct platform, while hard copies of certificates will be available within 90 days.

The examination was conducted between April 24 and June 19, 2026, with 102,708 examiners participating in the marking exercise across 88 marking centres.

WAEC also noted that the results of candidates sponsored by state governments indebted to the council would remain withheld until the outstanding payments are settled.