…2026 school results show 1.42% drop
…61.54% meet university entry requirement out of 1.95m candidates who sat exam
By Elizabeth Osayande
LAGOS — The West African Examinations Council, WAEC, on Wednesday released the results of the 2026 Computer-Based WASSCE for School Candidates, with 1,200,514 candidates representing 61.54% obtaining credits and above in a minimum of five subjects including English Language and Mathematics.
Announcing the results in Lagos, Head of WAEC Nigeria National Office, Dr. Amos Josiah Dangut, said this represents a 1.42% decrease compared to 2025.
The numbers
A total of 1,959,668 candidates from 24,207 schools enrolled for the examination across Nigeria, Benin Republic, Cote d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea. 1,950,726 candidates sat the examination.
Of those who sat:
1,200,514 candidates — 61.54% — obtained credits and above in five subjects including English and Maths
1,687,378 candidates — 86.50% — obtained credits and above in minimum of five subjects with or without English and Maths
Gender breakdown
Among the 1.2m candidates who passed English and Maths:
– *558,883–28.65% were male
– *641,631–32.89%were female
Overall, 953,459 males — 48.88% and 997,267 females — 51.12% sat the exam.
Processing and Special Needs
Dr. Dangut said 1,834,695 candidates, representing 94.05%, have had their results fully processed and released. Results of 116,031 candidates, representing 5.95%, are still being processed.
A total of 1,213 candidates with special needs registered. This includes 137 visually challenged, 491 with impaired hearing, 55 spastic cum mentally challenged and 41 physically challenged.
Malpractice cases
WAEC withheld results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59%, over examination malpractice. This is 1.11% lower than the 9.7% recorded in 2025.
“The increasing use of cell phones in the examination hall, in spite of the existing ban, and organized cheating in some schools, are other nagging issues,” Dr. Dangut said.
He added that some supervisors and invigilators caught aiding malpractice have been apprehended and would face sanctions through State Ministries of Education.
Key innovations
Dr. Dangut, who said this was his third and last briefing as Head of WAEC Nigeria, noted that 2026 was the second time the Council conducted CB-WASSCE for school candidates.
Other innovations include the Digital Examiner Mark System, DEMS, for faster processing, serialisation of question papers to fight malpractice, and a new portal where candidates can directly generate e-PINs to check results.
Other announcements
1. Digital Certificates: Candidates can now apply for digital certificates 48 hours after checking results online at http://www.waecdirect.org
2. Private Candidates 2026 — Second Series: Registration is ongoing at N37,500. Walk-in candidates allowed.
3. Past Questions: Compiled WAEC past questions and answers now sold for N5,200 per subject combination.
Candidates can check results within 12 hours at http://www.waecdirect.org. Hard copies of certificates will be ready in 90 days.
The examination was conducted from April 24 to June 19, 2026 and marked by 102,708 examiners across 88 marking venues.
Results of candidates sponsored by states indebted to WAEC will not be released until payment is made.
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