The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has released the results of the 2026 Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (CB-WASSCE) for School Candidates, with 1.2 million candidates meeting the minimum requirement of five credits, including English Language and Mathematics.
Announcing the results in Lagos on Wednesday, the Head of WAEC Nigeria National Office, Dr Amos Josiah Dangut, said 1,200,514 candidates, representing 61.54 per cent of those who sat the examination, obtained credits and above in five subjects, including the two core subjects.
However, the figure represents a slight decline of 1.42 per cent compared to the 2025 performance.
A total of 1,959,668 candidates from 24,207 schools registered for the examination across Nigeria, Benin Republic, Côte d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea, while 1,950,726 candidates eventually sat for the examination.
Beyond English and Mathematics, WAEC disclosed that 1,687,378 candidates, representing 86.50 per cent, obtained credits in at least five subjects, with or without the two core subjects.
The examination body revealed that female candidates recorded a higher performance among those who secured credits in English Language and Mathematics.
Out of the 1.2 million successful candidates, 641,631 females, representing 32.89 per cent, met the requirement, while 558,883 males, representing 28.65 per cent, achieved the same feat.
Overall, 997,267 females, representing 51.12 per cent, and 953,459 males, representing 48.88 per cent, participated in the examination.
WAEC also announced that results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59 per cent, were withheld over examination malpractice.
The figure, however, represents an improvement compared to the 9.7 per cent recorded in 2025.
Dr Dangut blamed some of the malpractice cases on the continued use of mobile phones in examination halls despite existing restrictions.
“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 found assisting candidates in examination malpractice had been arrested and would face disciplinary action through state Ministries of Education.
Dr Dangut, who noted that the briefing was his third and final one as Head of WAEC Nigeria National Office, said the 2026 examination marked the second time the council conducted the CB-WASSCE for school candidates.
He highlighted new innovations introduced by the examination body, including the Digital Examiner Mark System (DEMS) aimed at speeding up result processing, serialisation of question papers to curb malpractice, and a new platform that allows candidates to generate e-PINs for result checking.
WAEC disclosed that candidates can now apply for digital certificates 48 hours after checking their results online through its result portal.
The council also announced that registration for the 2026 Second Series examination for private candidates is ongoing at N37,500, with walk-in candidates permitted.
Candidates can access their results within 12 hours through the WAEC result-checking portal, while physical certificates are expected to be available within 90 days.
The 2026 examination was conducted between April 24 and June 19, 2026, with 102,708 examiners deployed across 88 marking centres.
WAEC further stated that candidates sponsored by states indebted to the council will not have their results released until outstanding payments are settled.
