The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has rejected claims that technical and logistical problems during the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) were responsible for the poor performance recorded by some candidates.

The examination body also attributed delays, including instances of examinations being conducted at night, to registration delays, insecurity and the Federal Government’s last-minute decision to adopt a hybrid examination format.

The Head of Nigeria National Office (HNO) of WAEC, Dr. Amos Josiah Dangut, made the clarification during a virtual dialogue organised by the Education Writers’ Association of Nigeria (EWAN).

The meeting brought together education stakeholders, including school proprietors, administrators and educators, amid growing concerns over the 2026 WASSCE results and reports of unusually high failure rates in some schools.

Schools Raise Concerns Over 2026 WASSCE Results

During the dialogue, some stakeholders accused WAEC of mishandling aspects of the examination process and expressed concern that schools known for maintaining strict anti-malpractice policies may have been disproportionately affected by the results.

Some participants alleged that schools where examination malpractice had previously been a problem appeared to record better outcomes, while schools that maintained zero tolerance for cheating experienced significant declines in their students’ performance.

Fatola Samson, Principal of Babcock University High School, Ilisha-Remo, Ogun State, said the school’s performance in the 2026 examination was significantly below its usual standard.

According to him, the unexpected outcome could also affect students’ chances of securing admission into higher institutions.

Other stakeholders questioned WAEC’s preparedness for the increasing adoption of computer-based testing (CBT).

Dr. Peter Ogunkunle, Proprietor of Soundmind School in Arigbajo, Ogun State, raised concerns about the reliability of the infrastructure required for CBT examinations.

He also pointed to the financial burden associated with CBT implementation, including the cost of laptops, alternative power supply and CCTV systems, which he said could be difficult for many private schools to provide.

Stakeholders Call for Independent Review

The concerns have prompted calls for an independent review of the 2026 WASSCE results.

Participants at the virtual meeting argued that any unresolved irregularities could undermine public confidence in the examination system and affect the credibility of CBT-based examinations in Nigeria.

They also called on the government and relevant education authorities to intervene, particularly where students’ admission opportunities could be affected by unexpectedly poor results.

WAEC Defends Examination Process

Responding to the concerns, WAEC’s Head of National Office, Dr. Amos Josiah Dangut, dismissed suggestions that technological or logistical challenges were responsible for the decline in candidates’ performance.

He explained that WAEC had introduced additional security measures, including the randomisation and serialisation of examination materials, to reduce malpractice.

Dangut suggested that the stronger measures may have affected schools and candidates that previously benefited from examination malpractice.

He also stressed that WASSCE is an achievement examination designed to assess candidates based on the prescribed syllabus and should not be compared with the aptitude-based examinations conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

WAEC Says Overall Performance Declined by 1.4%

According to Dangut, the overall decline in performance across the subjects was 1.4 percent, rather than the much larger decline suggested by some reports and stakeholder experiences.

He also provided examples from individual subjects.

In English Language, the percentage of candidates who obtained at least a C6 reportedly increased from 64.58 percent in 2025 to 69.31 percent in 2026.

Mathematics, however, recorded a decline, with the proportion of candidates scoring C6 reportedly falling from 88.66 percent in 2025 to 84.03 percent in 2026.

The figures suggest that performance varied from one subject to another despite concerns over the overall results.

Results for Visually Impaired Candidates Released

The WAEC official also confirmed that the results of visually impaired candidates had been released.

However, he explained that a small number of cases were still undergoing manual resolution due to shading errors in candidates’ answer sheets.

WAEC Advises Aggrieved Candidates to Request Reviews

Despite calls from some stakeholders for external verification of the 2026 WASSCE results, Dangut rejected the request.

He instead advised schools and candidates who were dissatisfied with their results to make use of WAEC’s existing appeal and result-review procedures.

The controversy surrounding the 2026 WASSCE results is likely to keep the issue of examination integrity, CBT readiness, anti-malpractice measures and the fairness of assessment in the spotlight.

For students and parents, the major concern remains how any disputed results may affect admission opportunities, while schools and education stakeholders continue to call for greater transparency and confidence in the examination process.