No leakage in 2026 WASSCE despite hitches – WAEC

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has asserted that the integrity of the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination remains intact, with no evidence of question paper leakage despite considerable logistical challenges. Amos Dangut, Head of WAEC's Nigeria National Office, stated that enhanced cyber monitoring and other innovations significantly curbed examination malpractice and prevented papers from circulating online.

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This year, I want to sound it clear and loud that the rate of examination malpractice diminished greatly. The extent and nature of our examination papers flying up and down on the internet were greatly diminished.

Candidates in multiple states experienced significant delays, often starting papers like Mathematics and Agricultural Science late into the evening. WAEC attributed these hitches to a combination of factors, including a fatal road accident on the Gombe-Yola highway that claimed the lives of three officials, disrupting the delivery of examination materials. These operational and logistical challenges impacted the timely distribution of question papers and answer booklets.

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As far as our cyber monitoring team was there and the comments and testimonies we received from stakeholders outside WAEC, there was no leakage in this examination.

Dangut addressed these concerns during a visit from the National Association of Nigerian Students. He assured that any observed "glitches" in a few states were managed by WAEC's internal systems, ensuring no negative impact on candidate performance. He also noted that the late conclusion of candidate registration, which closed in April after adjustments to the national curriculum, left insufficient time for printing and preparation.

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Whatever glitch that may have been observed in a few states, we have a system that can take care of every glitch. It will never go undetected and uncorrected. There will be no effect whatsoever on the performance of the candidates because we have ways of tackling each issue as it arises.

To prevent future occurrences, WAEC plans to commence registration for the 2027 examinations in September and conclude it by December 2026, allowing more time for logistical planning. The council also reiterated its commitment to expanding the Computer-Based WASSCE, viewing it as a long-term solution to curb examination malpractice and question paper leaks.

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Registration was concluded in April. From April to when examinations started in May, how can we do magic? The printing was affected due to timeliness, not because WAEC was not prepared.