WAEC Under Fire Over 2026 Results Amidst Grading Anomaly Claims

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) is under intense scrutiny following the release of its 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination results. Allegations of grading anomalies and technical glitches have emerged, primarily linked to the expanded rollout of Computer-Based Testing (CBT).

School administrators and education advocates claim that some high-achieving students received grades lower than anticipated, a stark contrast to their performance in other standardized assessments. Sam Abdulazeez, Director of Impact House Model Schools, Mowe, Ogun State, highlighted a significant decline in his students' WASSCE performance in 2025 and 2026, despite the school maintaining its teaching staff, improving facilities, and intensifying preparation.

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This year, out of the 69 children we presented for JAMB, over 30 of them had more than 300 in JAMB. And you know that JAMB is completely CBT. ... In Mathematics, we had children who had up to 98 in Mathematics during UTME. Now, the As we had in Mathematics, maybe about three or four out of 69. This is a school that we usually have almost everybody having A1 in Math.

Abdulazeez pointed to the school's strong track record, noting that in 2024, all 45 candidates presented for Mathematics achieved A1 grades. However, following the introduction of serialisation and CBT, the situation drastically changed. In the recent exams, only about three or four out of 69 candidates secured A1 in Mathematics, a sharp decline from previous years. Similar concerns were raised about English Language results, with students who excelled in the UTME receiving lower-than-expected grades in WASSCE.

The school director emphasized that the institution has a qualified teaching workforce and has invested heavily in infrastructure to adapt to WAEC's move towards computer-based examinations. Despite these efforts, the school encountered technical difficulties during a mock examination, raising further questions about the reliability of the new testing format. The disparity in results has fueled demands for a thorough investigation into WAEC's grading processes and the integrity of the 2026 examination results.

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We only had B and maybe a few Cs. Out of the 69, I think we have three credits, and all others are B2, B3.