WAEC Releases 2026 Results

The West African Examinations Council announced the release of the 2026 Computer-Based WASSCE results for school candidates on Wednesday, revealing that 1,200,514 candidates, or 61.54 percent, achieved credits and above in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.

During the announcement in Lagos, the Head of WAEC Nigeria National Office, Dr. Amos Josiah Dangut, noted that this success rate reflects a 1.42 percent decline compared to the previous year.

A total of 1,959,668 candidates spanning 24,207 schools registered for the assessments across Nigeria, Benin Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, and Equatorial Guinea, with 1,950,726 individuals ultimately sitting for the exams.

• 1,200,514 candidates achieved credits and above in five subjects including English and Maths.

• 1,687,378 candidates secured credits and above in a minimum of five subjects regardless of English and Maths.

The gender distribution among the candidates who passed both key subjects included 558,883 males and 641,631 females.

In the broader aggregate, 953,459 males and 997,267 females participated in the testing cycle.

Dr. Dangut stated that 94.05 percent of the candidates—totaling 1,834,695 individuals—have had their results fully completed and published, while the remaining 5.95 percent are undergoing ongoing processing.

The registration pool also included 1,213 candidates with special needs, encompassing 137 visually impaired students, 491 with hearing impairments, 55 spastic or mentally challenged candidates, and 41 physically challenged students.

Regarding examination integrity, WAEC withheld the results of 167,486 candidates, accounting for 8.59 percent, due to suspected malpractice, marking a 1.11 percent drop from the 9.7 percent recorded in 2025.

“The increasing use of cell phones in the examination hall, in spite of the existing ban, and organized cheating in some schools, are other nagging issues,” Dr. Dangut remarked, adding that complicit supervisors and invigilators have been caught and will face disciplinary actions through State Ministries of Education.

Marking his third and final briefing as the Head of WAEC Nigeria, Dr. Dangut highlighted that 2026 marked the second time the Council administered the CB-WASSCE for school candidates.

Additional technological updates featured the Digital Examiner Mark System for expedited processing, question paper serialization to combat cheating, and a new portal enabling candidates to independently generate e-PINs.

Candidates can verify their outcomes via http://www.waecdirect.org within 12 hours, and digital certificates become available for application 48 hours post-release, while physical certificate copies will be printed within 90 days.

Furthermore, registration for the 2026 Private Candidates Second Series remains active at N37,500 with walk-in options permitted, and compiled past questions are available for N5,200 per subject combination.

The examinations took place between April 24 and June 19, 2026, evaluated by 102,708 examiners across 88 venues.

WAEC clarified that results for candidates backed by state governments carrying outstanding financial debts to the council remain withheld pending payment settlement.