WAEC results reveal 38.5% failed five key subjects

The West African Examinations Council has reported that 61.54 percent of candidates who participated in the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination for school candidates achieved five credits or more, including English Language and Mathematics, while 38.46 percent did not meet the required benchmark.

However, the examination authority has withheld the results of candidates sponsored by state governments that are in debt until the outstanding payments owed to the council are settled.

Dr. Amos Dangut, the Head of the Nigeria National Office of WAEC, made this announcement on Wednesday during a press conference at the Council’s headquarters in Yaba, Lagos, where he disclosed the results of the 2026 Computer-Based WASSCE for school candidates.

The WAEC official revealed that 1,959,668 candidates from 24,207 schools registered for the examination, with 1,950,726 candidates actually taking the test conducted between April 24 and June 19, 2026.

He noted that 1,834,695 candidates, which accounts for 94.05 percent of those who sat for the examination, had their results fully processed and released, while the results of 116,031 candidates, or 5.95 percent, are still being processed due to unresolved issues.

He assured that efforts are underway to finalize the processing and release the outstanding results within a few days.

Dangut stated that the affected candidates would not be able to access their results until the defaulting state governments fulfill their financial obligations to the Council.

He remarked, "The results of candidates sponsored by states that owe the Council will not be released until payment is made. We urge those involved to act promptly to allow the affected schools and candidates to access their results."

Furthermore, Dangut mentioned that candidates whose results have been released and whose financial obligations have been settled can access their results on WAEC’s results portal within 12 hours of the announcement and apply for their digital certificates, which will be available within 48 hours.

He further stated that 1,200,514 candidates, which accounts for 61.54 percent of those who participated in the examination, achieved credits in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics. He noted that this performance reflects a decline of 1.42 percent compared to the 2025 examination.

Providing a gender breakdown of the candidates, Dangut mentioned, "Of this total, 558,883, or 28.65 percent, were male candidates, while 641,631, or 32.89 percent, were female candidates."

Regarding examination malpractice, he disclosed that the results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59 percent of the overall candidates, had been withheld due to alleged involvement in various forms of examination malpractice.

He clarified that these cases are currently under investigation and will be reviewed by the Nigeria Examinations Committee before any final decisions are made.

"Nevertheless, the council, through its collaborative efforts with security agencies, has successfully apprehended some of these individuals, and they are already facing the consequences of their actions.