The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has announced a slight decline in the pass rate for the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates, with 61.54 per cent of candidates obtaining at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics.
Speaking during the official release of the results in Lagos, the Head of WAEC Nigeria, Dr. Josiah Dangut, said 1,200,514 out of 1,950,726 candidates met the minimum benchmark for university admission.
The performance represents a 2.26 percentage-point decline compared with the 2025 WASSCE, when 62.96 per cent of candidates achieved five credits, including English and Mathematics.
Dr. Dangut disclosed that the results of 1,834,695 candidates, representing 94.05 per cent, had been processed and released, while the results of 116,031 candidates (5.95 per cent) were still being processed.
He also revealed that 1,213 candidates with special needs registered for the examination, including 137 visually impaired candidates, 491 with hearing impairments, 55 spastic and mentally challenged candidates, and 41 physically challenged candidates.
Meanwhile, WAEC withheld the results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59 per cent of those who sat the examination, over allegations of examination malpractice. Although still significant, the figure is lower than the 9.7 per cent recorded in 2025.
According to Dangut, the widespread use of mobile phones in examination halls despite existing bans, along with organised cheating in some schools, remains a major concern.
He added that several supervisors and invigilators accused of aiding examination malpractice had been arrested and would face disciplinary action through the relevant state ministries of education.