WAEC cracks down on exam fraud, withholds 167,486 WASSCE results

By Anuoluwa Amao

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has withheld the results of 167,486 candidates who sat for the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) over alleged involvement in examination malpractice.

The affected candidates represent 8.59 per cent of the 1,950,726 students who wrote the examination, according to the Head of WAEC’s Nigeria National Office, Dr. Amos Josiah Dangut, who announced the development during a press briefing in Lagos on Wednesday.

Dangut attributed a significant number of the malpractice cases to the illegal use of mobile phones in examination halls despite an existing ban, as well as organised cheating syndicates uncovered in some schools.

He also disclosed that several supervisors and invigilators accused of aiding candidates during the examination had been apprehended and would face disciplinary action through their respective state ministries of education.

A total of 1,959,668 candidates from more than 24,000 schools across Nigeria, Benin Republic, Côte d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea registered for the 2026 examination.

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According to WAEC, 61.54 per cent of candidates obtained at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics—the minimum requirement for admission into most tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

The council also revealed that 86.5 per cent of candidates earned five credits or more in at least five subjects, regardless of whether they passed English and Mathematics.

However, Dangut noted that performance in the key category of five credits including English and Mathematics declined by 1.42 percentage points compared to the previous year’s results.

WAEC further disclosed that 94.05 per cent of candidates who sat for the examination have had their results fully processed and released, while the remaining 5.95 per cent are still being processed.

The 2026 examination marked the second full implementation of the Computer-Based WASSCE for school candidates, with the council introducing additional technology-driven measures to curb malpractice.

These include the deployment of the Digital Examiner Marking System (DEMS), enhanced serialisation of examination papers and an electronic PIN platform to replace the traditional scratch card system for checking results.

The examination was conducted between April 24 and June 19, 2026, with more than 102,000 examiners participating in the marking exercise across 88 marking centres nationwide.

WAEC also reminded candidates sponsored by state governments with outstanding debts to the council that their results would remain withheld until the financial obligations are settled.

The examination body reaffirmed its commitment to preserving the integrity and credibility of its examinations, warning that it would continue to sanction candidates, schools and examination officials found guilty of violating examination regulations.