WAEC withholds 167,486 WASSCE results over malpractice

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has withheld the results of 167,486 candidates who took the 2026 Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). This represents 8.59% of the total candidates and is attributed to alleged examination malpractice.

Dr. Amos Dangut, Head of WAEC Nigeria National Office, announced the release of the results, noting that the number of withheld results has declined from 9.7% in 2025. Despite this improvement, Dangut highlighted persistent issues such as the "increasing use of cell phones in the examination hall" and "organised cheating in some schools." He also mentioned that supervisors and invigilators found aiding malpractice face disciplinary action.

A total of 1,950,726 candidates participated in the examination across Nigeria, Benin Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, and Equatorial Guinea. Of these, 1,200,514 candidates, or 61.54%, achieved credits in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics. This performance metric saw a slight drop of 1.42 percentage points compared to the 2025 examination. The examination also saw the participation of 1,213 candidates with special needs.

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The increasing use of cell phones in the examination hall, in spite of the existing ban, and organised cheating in some schools, are other nagging issues.