The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) on Wednesday announced the release of the 2026 Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results for school candidates, revealing that 1,200,514 candidates earned the minimum five credits, including English Language and Mathematics, required for admission into most tertiary institutions.
The council said the pass rate stood at 61.54 per cent, representing a 1.42 percentage-point decline from the performance recorded in the 2025 examination.
Speaking during the official release of the results in Lagos, the Head of the WAEC National Office, Dr. Amos Josiah Dangut, said 1,959,668 candidates from 24,207 schools across Nigeria, Benin Republic, Côte d'Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea registered for the examination.
He disclosed that 1,950,726 candidates eventually sat for the examination, while 1,200,514 obtained credits in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
Dangut added that 1,687,378 candidates, representing 86.50 per cent of those who sat the examination, secured credits in a minimum of five subjects irrespective of whether English Language and Mathematics were included.
A breakdown of the candidates who met the benchmark for university admission showed that 558,883, representing 28.65 per cent, were male, while 641,631, or 32.89 per cent, were female.
Overall, 953,459 male candidates and 997,267 female candidates participated in the examination, accounting for 48.88 per cent and 51.12 per cent respectively.
The WAEC boss said the council had completed the processing and release of the results of 1,834,695 candidates, representing 94.05 per cent of those who sat the examination.
However, he noted that the results of 116,031 candidates, representing 5.95 per cent, were still being processed and would be released after the completion of necessary procedures.
On candidates with special needs, Dangut said 1,213 registered for the examination, including 137 visually impaired candidates, 491 with hearing impairment, 55 who were spastic and mentally challenged, and 41 physically challenged candidates.
Addressing examination malpractice, he disclosed that the results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59 per cent, had been withheld over alleged involvement in various forms of examination malpractice.
According to him, the figure reflects an improvement over the previous year's 9.7 per cent.
Dangut identified the use of mobile phones in examination halls and organised cheating in some schools as major challenges confronting the conduct of the examination.
He said supervisors and invigilators found culpable in aiding malpractice had been apprehended and would be sanctioned through the relevant State Ministries of Education.
Highlighting reforms introduced by the council, Dangut noted that the 2026 examination was the second Computer-Based WASSCE for school candidates.
He said WAEC also deployed the Digital Examiner Marking System to speed up the marking process, serialised question papers to reduce examination malpractice, and introduced a new online platform through which candidates can generate e-PINs to check their results.
The council further announced that candidates can now apply for digital certificates 48 hours after checking their results online.
Dangut also disclosed that registration for the 2026 WASSCE for Private Candidates (Second Series) is in progress at a fee of ₦37,500, while walk-in registration remains available.
He added that the council has made compiled past questions and answers available for purchase at ₦5,200 per subject combination.
The 2026 WASSCE for school candidates was conducted between April 24 and June 19, with 102,708 examiners participating in the marking exercise at 88 marking venues.
WAEC also warned that the results of candidates sponsored by state governments indebted to the council would not be released until the outstanding financial obligations are settled.
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