WASSCE 2026: Performance dips as 61.54% secure 5 credits in English, Maths

The academic performance of candidates who sat for the 2026 Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (CB-WASSCE) recorded a decline, with 61.54 per cent obtaining credits in five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.

The figure represents a 1.42 percentage point drop compared with the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates.

A total of 1,950,726 candidates sat for the examination in Nigeria, Benin Republic, Côte d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea.

Head of National Office (HNO) of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Dr Amos Dangut, disclosed this yesterday while announcing the release of the May/June 2026 CB-WASSCE results.

According to him, 1,200,514 candidates achieved credits in five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics, a requirement for consideration for tertiary admission.

“The percentage of candidates who obtained credit and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics, was 61.54 per cent in the 2026 CB-WASSCE.” Dangut explained that a comparison of the 2026 results with the previous year showed a marginal decline in performance.

“The 61.54 per cent performance recorded in 2026 represented a 1.42 per cent decrease compared with the WASSCE for school candidates, 2025,” he stated.

Dangut said 1,959,668 candidates from 24,207 schools registered for the examination, while 1,950,726 eventually participated in the exercise.

He added that 1,687,378 candidates, representing 86.50 per cent, obtained credits in five subjects with or without English Language and Mathematics.

The WAEC chief disclosed that 953,459 candidates who sat for the examination were male, representing 48.88 per cent, while 997,267 were female, representing 51.12 per cent.

He said results of 1,834,695 candidates, representing 94.05 per cent, had been fully processed and released, while 116,031 candidates, representing 5.95 per cent, had one or more subjects still being processed due to issues requiring resolution.

Dangut assured affected candidates that efforts were ongoing to complete the process and release the outstanding results.

Meanwhile, WAEC disclosed that results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59 per cent of those who sat for the examination, had been withheld over alleged examination malpractice.

Dangut said the figure was lower than the 9.7 per cent recorded in the 2025 WASSCE for school candidates.

He identified the use of mobile phones in examination halls, despite existing restrictions, and organised cheating in some schools as major concerns.

“All the cases are being investigated and reports of the investigations will be presented to the appropriate committee of the Council for consideration and final decisions.”

He added that affected candidates would be notified through their schools and would have the opportunity to seek redress through the Council’s complaints platform.

Dangut warned that WAEC would continue to sanction candidates, schools, teachers and supervisors involved in examination malpractice.

The WAEC HNO also disclosed that results of candidates from schools whose proprietors or proprietresses were indebted to the Council would not be released until outstanding registration fees were paid.

He added that candidates sponsored by indebted states would equally be affected until the debts were cleared.

“We appeal to the concerned states and schools to do so to enable the affected candidates access their results,” he said.

Dangut described the conduct of the 2026 CB-WASSCE as a success despite some challenges, noting that it was the second time WAEC conducted the school candidates’ examination using a computer-based format.

He, however, cited delayed registration, late submission of Continuous Assessment Scores (CASS), delays affecting one major paper and activities of fraudulent websites selling fake examination materials as challenges encountered during the exercise.

He appealed to stakeholders to support efforts to protect the integrity of the examination system.