By Emmanuel Babafemi
August 5, 2026
The West African Examinations Council, WAEC, has released the 2026 Computer Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination, WASSCE, results 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 on Wednesday in Lagos.
According to him, 1,959,668 candidates from 24,207 schools registered for the examination conducted across Nigeria, Benin Republic, Côte d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea, while 1,950,726 candidates eventually sat for the examination.
Dangut disclosed that 1,200,514 candidates secured credits and above in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics, representing 61.54 per cent of the total candidates who sat for the examination.
He noted that the performance reflects a 1.42 percentage point decline from the 2025 results.
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He added that 1,687,378 candidates, representing 86.50 per cent, obtained credits and above in at least five subjects, with or without English Language and Mathematics.
A breakdown of the successful candidates showed that 558,883 males, representing 28.65 per cent, and 641,631 females, representing 32.89 per cent, achieved the benchmark of five credits, including English and Mathematics.
Overall, 953,459 male candidates, representing 48.88 per cent, and 997,267 female candidates, representing 51.12 per cent, sat for the examination.
Dangut said WAEC has fully processed and released the results of 1,834,695 candidates, representing 94.05 per cent, while the results of 116,031 candidates, representing 5.95 per cent, are still being processed.
The council also revealed that 1,213 candidates with special needs registered for the examination.
They include 137 visually impaired candidates, 491 with hearing impairment, 55 spastic and mentally challenged candidates, 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 various cases of malpractice.
Dangut noted that the figure is lower than the 9.70 per cent recorded in 2025.
He attributed the persistent challenge to the increasing use of mobile phones in examination halls despite existing restrictions, as well as organised cheating in some schools.
He added that supervisors and invigilators found aiding malpractice had been apprehended and would face sanctions through the relevant State Ministries of Education.
Dangut stated that the 2026 exercise marked the second edition of the Computer Based WASSCE for school candidates.
He said WAEC also introduced innovations such as the Digital Examiner Marking System, serialisation of question papers to curb malpractice, and a new portal that enables candidates to generate electronic PINs for result checking.
The examination was conducted between April 24 and June 19, 2026, with 102,708 examiners participating in the marking exercise across 88 marking centres.
He further disclosed that candidates sponsored by states owing WAEC would not have their results released until the outstanding payments are settled.
Meanwhile, digital certificates will be available for application within 48 hours of checking results, while physical certificates will be ready within 90 days.
Registration for the 2026 WASSCE for private candidates, second series, is also ongoing.
