The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has released the results of the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), with 1.2 million candidates obtaining the minimum credits required in English Language and Mathematics.
A total of 1,200,514 candidates, representing 61.54 per cent of those who sat the examination, obtained credits and above in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics. The figure represents a 1.42 per cent decline from the 2025 performance.
Overall, 1,687,378 candidates, representing 86.50 per cent, obtained credits and above in a minimum of five subjects, with or without English Language and Mathematics.
Of the 1,950,726 candidates who sat the examination out of the 1,959,668 registered from 24,207 schools, 953,459 were male, representing 48.88 per cent, while 997,267 were female, representing 51.12 per cent.
Among candidates who secured five credits, including English Language and Mathematics, 558,883 were male, while 641,631 were female.
Announcing the results in Lagos on Wednesday, the Head of WAEC National Office, Amos Dangut, said 1,834,695 candidates, representing 94.05 per cent, had their results fully processed and released, while the results of 116,031 candidates, or 5.95 per cent, were still being processed.
Dangut disclosed that 1,213 candidates with special needs registered for the examination, comprising 137 visually impaired candidates, 491 with hearing impairment, 55 who were spastic or mentally challenged, and 41 physically challenged candidates.
He also announced that the results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59 per cent of the total candidature, had been withheld over alleged examination malpractice, a decrease from the 9.7 per cent recorded in 2025.
“The increasing use of cell phones in the examination hall, despite the existing ban, and organised cheating in some schools, are other nagging issues,” Dangut said.
He added that supervisors and invigilators found aiding examination malpractice had been apprehended and would be sanctioned through the respective State Ministries of Education.
Dangut, who noted that the 2026 examination was the second Computer-Based WASSCE for school candidates, said the council introduced several innovations, including the Digital Examiner Mark System to speed up result processing, the serialisation of question papers to curb malpractice, and a new portal that enables candidates to generate e-PINs directly for result checking.
He further disclosed that candidates can now apply for their digital certificates 48 hours after checking their results online, while registration for the 2026 WASSCE for Private Candidates, Second Series, is ongoing at N37,500.
Dangut added that results of candidates sponsored by state governments indebted to WAEC would remain withheld until the outstanding payments are settled.