The West African Examinations Council has officially released the results of the 2026 Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (CB-WASSCE) for School Candidates, with 61.54% of candidates obtaining the minimum requirement of five credits, including English Language and Mathematics.

The announcement was made by the Head of the Nigeria National Office of WAEC, Dr. Amos Josiah Dangut, during a press briefing held at the council’s national headquarters in Yaba, Lagos.

According to WAEC, 1,200,514 candidates out of the 1,950,726 who sat the examination achieved five credits, including English Language and Mathematics. This represents 61.54% of all candidates who wrote the examination and met the minimum admission requirement for most Nigerian tertiary institutions.

Female Candidates Outperform Males

The council’s statistics showed that female candidates recorded better performance than their male counterparts.

Out of the successful candidates:

558,883 males (28.65%) obtained five credits, including English Language and Mathematics.
641,631 females (32.89%) achieved the same benchmark.

Despite the encouraging performance, WAEC noted that the overall pass rate declined slightly by 1.42 percentage points compared to the 2025 examination.

Over 86% Earned Five Credits in Any Subjects

WAEC also disclosed that 1,687,378 candidates, representing 86.50%, obtained credit passes in at least five subjects, regardless of whether they passed English Language and Mathematics.

A total of 1,959,668 candidates registered for the examination from 24,207 secondary schools, while 1,950,726 candidates eventually sat for the examination.

The candidates included:

953,459 males (48.88%)
997,267 females (51.12%)

The examination was also conducted in Nigerian schools located in Benin Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, and Equatorial Guinea, using the Nigerian curriculum.

WAEC Releases Over 94% of Results

WAEC confirmed that it has successfully processed and released the results of 1,834,695 candidates, representing 94.05% of those who sat the examination.

However, the results of 116,031 candidates (5.95%) are still being processed due to issues currently being resolved. The council assured affected candidates that the outstanding results would be released within the next few days.

167,486 Results Withheld Over Examination Malpractice

The examination body announced that the results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59% of all candidates, have been withheld over allegations of examination malpractice.

WAEC noted that this figure represents an improvement compared to 9.7% recorded in the 2025 examination, indicating a reduction of 1.11 percentage points.

According to Dr. Dangut, the improvement followed several anti-malpractice measures introduced by the council, including:

Computer-Based Examinations (CBT)
Paper serialisation
Digital Examiner Mark System
Enhanced examination monitoring

The council also disclosed that, working alongside security agencies, it arrested operators of rogue websites that circulated fake examination questions to candidates. Supervisors and invigilators found guilty of aiding examination malpractice will also face disciplinary sanctions.

WAEC Introduces Digital Result Checker PIN

WAEC announced that it has discontinued the printing of Smart Identity Cards containing result checker PINs.

Candidates can now generate their result checker PINs electronically through the WAEC Digital Certificate platform using their National Identification Number (NIN), making the process of checking results easier and more secure.

Candidates who have fulfilled all financial obligations to WAEC can access their results through the council’s online results portal within 12 hours after the official release, while digital certificates will become available within 48 hours after checking results.

Printed certificates will be ready for collection within 90 days, according to the council.

Indebted States May Delay Candidates’ Results

WAEC also warned that candidates sponsored by state governments that are yet to settle outstanding examination fees with the council may experience delays in accessing their results.

The council appealed to the affected state governments to pay their outstanding debts promptly to ensure candidates can access their results without further delay.

Special Needs Candidates Supported

The 2026 WASSCE, conducted between April 24 and June 19, 2026, also accommodated 1,213 candidates with special needs, all of whom received the necessary support throughout the examination period.