The West African Examination Council (WAEC) has withheld the results of 167,486 candidates over alleged examination malpractice, even as the proportion of candidates who secured the benchmark five credits, including English Language and Mathematics, fell below last year’s performance.
The examination body announced on Wednesday that 1,200,514 candidates, representing 61.54 per cent of those who sat the 2026 Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates, obtained the minimum requirement for admission into many tertiary institutions.
Speaking during the official release of the results in Lagos, Head of the WAEC National Office, Dr Amos Josiah Dangut, said the performance was 1.42 percentage points lower than the result recorded in 2025.
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Out of the 1,959,668 candidates registered from 24,207 schools across Nigeria, the Benin Republic, Côte d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea, 1,950,726 sat the examination.
WAEC also disclosed that 1,687,378 candidates, representing 86.50 per cent, obtained credits in at least five subjects with or without English Language and Mathematics.
Among candidates who met the benchmark of five credits, including English and Mathematics, 558,883 were male while 641,631 were female.
167,486 results withheld over malpractice
A major feature of this year’s exercise was the large number of results withheld over alleged examination malpractice.
According to WAEC, the results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59 per cent of those who wrote the examination, have been withheld pending investigation.
Despite the significance of the figure, it is lower than the 9.7 per cent recorded in the 2025 examination.
Dangut blamed the continued use of mobile phones in examination halls despite existing prohibitions, as well as organised cheating in some schools, for many of the reported cases.
He revealed that supervisors and invigilators allegedly caught aiding malpractice had been apprehended and would face disciplinary action through the relevant State Ministries of Education.
He explained that the Nigeria Examinations Committee (NEC) would examine each reported case before reaching a final decision on the affected results.
WAEC emphasised that a withheld result should not be mistaken for a cancelled result, noting that both carry different implications.
The council advised affected candidates to remain calm while investigations continue; it explained that candidates cleared of wrongdoing would have their results released.
Candidates were also urged to contact their school principals or examination officers, check the council’s Notice of Examination Malpractice portal for updates where applicable, and avoid individuals claiming they could influence the release of withheld results.
WAEC warned that such promises are fraudulent and advised candidates to rely only on official communication from the council.
Most results released, others still under processing
WAEC said 1,834,695 candidates, representing 94.05 per cent of those who sat the examination, have had their results fully processed and released.
The council added that the results of 116,031 candidates, representing 5.95 per cent, are still being processed.
Dangut also revealed that 1,213 candidates with special needs registered for the examination. They included 137 visually impaired candidates, 491 with hearing impairment, 55 spastic and mentally challenged candidates, and 41 physically challenged candidates.
Candidates can obtain digital certificates within 48 hours
Beyond the release of results, WAEC announced fresh measures aimed at simplifying access to examination services.
Dangut said candidates can now apply for their digital certificates 48 hours after checking their results online.
He explained that the council has also introduced a portal that allows candidates to generate electronic PINs directly for result checking without relying on external vendors.
According to him, candidates should be able to access their results within 12 hours through the result portal, while printed certificates will be available within 90 days.
He said the new measures form part of WAEC’s ongoing effort to modernise its operations and improve service delivery.
New technology introduced to curb malpractice
The 2026 examination was the second Computer-Based WASSCE conducted for school candidates, continuing WAEC’s gradual transition to technology-driven assessment.
Dangut said the council introduced the Digital Examiner Mark System to speed up the marking process and improve efficiency.
He added that serialised question papers were also deployed to reduce opportunities for organised cheating by making each candidate’s question booklet unique.
The WAEC boss said the innovations was part of broader reforms designed to strengthen the credibility of the examination and improve confidence in its certificates.
He also announced that registration for the 2026 WASSCE for Private Candidates (Second Series) is ongoing at N37,500, with provision made for walk-in candidates.
While the council recorded another year in which more than one million candidates achieved the benchmark required for tertiary education, the large number of withheld results underscores the continuing challenge of protecting the integrity of public examinations.
