WAEC 2026 Results Out: Over 1.2 Million Candidates Meet University Admission Benchmark as 167,486 Results Withheld

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has officially released the results of the 2026 Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (CB-WASSCE) for school candidates, with more than 1.2 million candidates meeting the minimum academic requirement for admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions.

Announcing the results at a press briefing in Lagos on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, the Head of the WAEC National Office, Dr. Amos Josiah Dangut, disclosed that 1,200,514 candidates, representing 61.54 per cent of the 1,950,726 candidates who sat the examination, obtained credits in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.

Although the performance remains above the 60 per cent mark, it represents a slight decline from the 62.96 per cent recorded in the 2025 WASSCE, reflecting a decrease of 1.42 percentage points.

A total of 1,959,668 candidates from 24,207 schools across Nigeria, Benin Republic, Côte d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea registered for the examination, which was conducted between April 24 and June 19, 2026. The examination was the second edition of WAEC’s computer-based WASSCE for school candidates, marking the council’s continued transition to digital assessment.

Beyond the benchmark required for university admission, WAEC revealed that 1,687,378 candidates, representing 86.50 per cent, obtained credits in at least five subjects, regardless of whether English Language and Mathematics were included.

The council also reported that female candidates slightly outperformed their male counterparts among those who achieved the key admission benchmark. Of the successful candidates, 641,631 (32.89 per cent) were female, while 558,883 (28.65 per cent) were male. Overall participation stood at 997,267 female candidates (51.12 per cent) and 953,459 male candidates (48.88 per cent).

According to Dr. Dangut, 1,834,695 candidates, representing 94.05 per cent, have had their results fully processed and released. The remaining 116,031 results (5.95 per cent) are still undergoing processing and will be released once the exercise is completed.

He added that the marking exercise involved 102,708 examiners working across 88 marking venues nationwide between July 2 and July 20, 2026.

WAEC also announced that the results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59 per cent of those who sat the examination, have been withheld over alleged involvement in examination malpractice. While describing the figure as an improvement over the 9.7 per cent recorded in 2025, the council expressed concern over the persistent rise in organised cheating and the illegal use of mobile phones inside examination halls.

Dr. Dangut disclosed that several supervisors and invigilators found aiding candidates during the examination have been arrested and will face disciplinary action through the appropriate state ministries of education.

He, however, reassured affected candidates that a withheld result does not automatically translate to cancellation. Candidates were advised to contact their school principals or examination officers and, where necessary, submit official representations through WAEC’s Examination Malpractice portal for review.

Candidates can now check their results through WAEC’s official result-checking platform using their examination number, result-checking PIN and serial number, alongside the same National Identification Number (NIN) provided during registration.

The council further stated that digital certificates will be available for download within 48 hours after candidates access their results online, while printed certificates are expected to be ready within approximately 90 days.

WAEC also cautioned the public against a fake document circulating on social media, which falsely claims to contain a list of schools whose results were withheld over examination malpractice. The council described the document as fraudulent and urged candidates, parents and school administrators to rely solely on official WAEC communication channels for authentic information.

It also reminded schools and state governments with outstanding financial obligations that candidates’ results from indebted schools will remain withheld until all outstanding payments are settled.

The release of the 2026 WASSCE results underscores the continued expansion of computer-based examinations across West Africa while highlighting WAEC’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the credibility of public examinations and curb examination malpractice.

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