The West African Examinations Council has released the results of the 2026 Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (CB-WASSCE), with 61.54 percent of candidates obtaining at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics.
Announcing the results on Wednesday at the WAEC National Office in Yaba, Lagos, the Head of the Nigeria National Office, Dr. Amos Josiah Dangut, described the examination as another milestone in the council’s digital transformation and his final WASSCE results briefing before leaving office.
Dr. Dangut said WAEC has become the first examining body in Africa to conduct achievement examinations for both private and school candidates using a computer-based system. He highlighted key reforms introduced during his tenure, including the expansion of the WAEC Press into a Printing Division, improved serialization of question papers to curb malpractice, and the Digital Examiner Mark System (DEMS), which has accelerated the marking and release of results.
The examination was conducted from April 24 to June 19 in Nigeria and selected schools in Benin Republic, Côte d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea using the Nigerian curriculum.
A total of 1,959,668 candidates from 24,207 schools registered, while 1,950,726 sat the examination. Of those, 953,459 were male and 997,267 were female. WAEC also accommodated 1,213 candidates with special needs, including visually impaired, hearing-impaired and physically challenged candidates, whose results have been released.
The council said 1,834,695 candidates, representing 94.05 percent, have had their results fully processed, while 116,031 candidates, or 5.95 percent, still have one or more subjects being processed due to unresolved issues. WAEC said the remaining results would be released within a few days.
Performance analysis showed that 1,687,378 candidates, representing 86.50 percent, earned credits in at least five subjects, while 1,200,514 candidates, or 61.54 percent, obtained five credits including English Language and Mathematics. The figure represents a 1.42 percentage-point decline from the 2025 examination.
WAEC withheld the results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59 percent of those who sat the examination, over suspected malpractice, down from 9.7 percent recorded in 2025. The council blamed the trend on the use of mobile phones in examination halls, organized cheating and the activities of rogue websites that sell fake examination materials. It said some supervisors and invigilators were also sanctioned, while suspects linked to fraudulent websites have been arrested with the support of security agencies.
Dr. Dangut acknowledged challenges during the examination, including logistics delays that affected one major paper, late registration and submission of Continuous Assessment Scores (CASS) by some schools and rising operational costs driven by inflation. Despite the setbacks, he said the examination was successfully concluded.
Scripts were marked between July 2 and July 20 at 88 centres nationwide by 102,708 examiners.
To simplify access to results, WAEC has discontinued the Smart Identity Card containing result-checker PINs. Candidates can now generate their own electronic PINs through the Digital Certificate platform using their National Identification Number (NIN). Results will be available online within 12 hours, digital certificates within 48 hours, while printed certificates will be issued within 90 days. Results of candidates sponsored by states indebted to WAEC will remain withheld until outstanding payments are settled.
The council also announced that registration for the 2026 WASSCE for Private Candidates (Second Series) is ongoing at a fee of ₦37,000, excluding a ₦500 service charge, while the first series of the 2027 private candidates’ examination will commence shortly afterward.
WAEC further highlighted its’ growing range of digital services, including the WAEC Konnect mobile app, e-Study platform, Digital Certificates, computer-based testing services, WAEC Chatbot, WAEC Verify and compiled past questions designed to improve candidates’ preparation.
Dr. Dangut thanked the Federal Government, the Federal Ministry of Education, state governments, the Nigeria Police Force, examination officials and other stakeholders for supporting the successful conduct of the 2026 examination, while also expressing appreciation to the media for its’ continued partnership.
