The West African Examinations Council, WAEC has released the results of the 2026 Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination, CB-WASSCE, with 61.54 per cent of candidates obtaining credits and above in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
Candidates whose results have been fully processed can access them through the WAEC results portal within 12 hours of the release after fulfilling their financial obligations to the Council. They can also apply for their digital certificates, which will be available within 48 hours, while hard-copy certificates will be ready within 90 days.
Announcing the release of the results at the Council’s National Office in Yaba, Lagos, Head of the Nigeria National Office of WAEC, Dr. Amos Josiah Dangut, said the Council has strengthened its digital examination system through the Digital Examiner Marking System (DEMS), which has improved the speed and efficiency of result processing.
He added that WAEC has discontinued the printing of Smart Identity Cards containing result checker PINs, replacing them with an online platform that allows candidates to generate electronic PINs to access their results.
Dangut noted that the 2026 examination marked another milestone in the Council’s digital transformation, making WAEC the first examining body in Africa and among the first globally to successfully conduct achievement examinations using computer-based testing for both school and private candidates.
On candidates’ performance, Dangut disclosed that 1,200,514 candidates met the minimum requirement for admission into tertiary institutions by obtaining five credits, including English Language and Mathematics.
He said 1,687,378 candidates, representing 86.50 per cent of those who sat the examination, obtained credits and above in at least five subjects irrespective of English Language and Mathematics.
According to him, 1,959,668 candidates from 24,207 schools registered for the examination, while 1,950,726 candidates sat for the exercise conducted between April 24 and June 19, 2026.
He added that 1,834,695 candidates, representing 94.05 per cent of those who sat the examination, had their results fully processed and released, while the results of 116,031 candidates, representing 5.95 per cent, were still being processed due to issues currently being resolved.
Dangut said the outstanding results would be released within the next few days.
Providing a gender breakdown of candidates who obtained five credits, including English Language and Mathematics, he said 558,883 were male, representing 28.65 per cent, while 641,631 were female, representing 32.89 per cent. He noted that the overall performance represented a decline of 1.42 percentage points compared with the 2025 examination.
On examination malpractice, Dangut disclosed that the results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59 per cent of those who sat the examination, had been withheld over alleged malpractice.
Although the figure represents an improvement over the 9.7 per cent recorded in 2025, he expressed concern over the increasing use of mobile phones in examination halls and organised cheating in some schools.
He said all reported cases would be investigated by the appropriate committee of the Council, after which affected candidates would be notified through their schools, while those dissatisfied with the decisions could seek redress through WAEC’s complaints portal.
Dangut also identified logistics challenges, delays by some schools in registration and submission of Continuous Assessment Scores, rising inflation and the activities of rogue websites as some of the major issues encountered during the conduct of the examination.
He warned candidates and parents against patronising fraudulent websites circulating fake examination questions and misleading information, noting that security agencies had arrested some of those involved, while supervisors and invigilators found complicit in examination malpractice would face appropriate sanctions.
Reflecting on his tenure, which he described as his third and final release of results as Head of the Nigeria National Office, Dangut expressed appreciation to the Federal Government, the Federal Ministry of Education, state governments, security agencies, supervisors, examiners and other stakeholders for their support in ensuring the successful conduct of the 2026 CB-WASSCE.