Breaking : WAEC releases 2026 results; 1.2m candidates pass English, Maths

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…2026 school results show 1.42% drop

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…61.54% meet university entry requirement out of 1.95m candidates who sat exam

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By Elizabeth Osayande

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LAGOS — The West African Examinations Council, WAEC, on Wednesday released the results of the 2026 Computer-Based WASSCE for School Candidates, with 1,200,514 candidates representing 61.54% obtaining credits and above in a minimum of five subjects including English Language and Mathematics.

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Announcing the results in Lagos, Head of WAEC Nigeria National Office, Dr. Amos Josiah Dangut, said this represents a 1.42% decrease compared to 2025.

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The numbers

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A total of 1,959,668 candidates from 24,207 schools enrolled for the examination across Nigeria, Benin Republic, Cote d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea. 1,950,726 candidates sat the examination.

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Of those who sat:

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1,200,514 candidates — 61.54% — obtained credits and above in five subjects including English and Maths

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1,687,378 candidates — 86.50% — obtained credits and above in minimum of five subjects with or without English and Maths

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Gender breakdown

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Among the 1.2m candidates who passed English and Maths:

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– *558,883–28.65% were male

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– *641,631–32.89%were female

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Overall, 953,459 males — 48.88% and 997,267 females — 51.12% sat the exam.

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Processing and Special Needs

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Dr. Dangut said 1,834,695 candidates, representing 94.05%, have had their results fully processed and released. Results of 116,031 candidates, representing 5.95%, are still being processed.

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A total of 1,213 candidates with special needs registered. This includes 137 visually challenged, 491 with impaired hearing, 55 spastic cum mentally challenged and 41 physically challenged.

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Malpractice cases

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WAEC withheld results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59%, over examination malpractice. This is 1.11% lower than the 9.7% recorded in 2025.

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“The increasing use of cell phones in the examination hall, in spite of the existing ban, and organized cheating in some schools, are other nagging issues,” Dr. Dangut said.

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He added that some supervisors and invigilators caught aiding malpractice have been apprehended and would face sanctions through State Ministries of Education.

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Key innovations

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Dr. Dangut, who said this was his third and last briefing as Head of WAEC Nigeria, noted that 2026 was the second time the Council conducted CB-WASSCE for school candidates.

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Other innovations include the Digital Examiner Mark System, DEMS, for faster processing, serialisation of question papers to fight malpractice, and a new portal where candidates can directly generate e-PINs to check results.

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Other announcements

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1. Digital Certificates: Candidates can now apply for digital certificates 48 hours after checking results online at http://www.waecdirect.org

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2. Private Candidates 2026 — Second Series: Registration is ongoing at N37,500. Walk-in candidates allowed.

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3. Past Questions: Compiled WAEC past questions and answers now sold for N5,200 per subject combination.

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Candidates can check results within 12 hours at http://www.waecdirect.org. Hard copies of certificates will be ready in 90 days.

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The examination was conducted from April 24 to June 19, 2026 and marked by 102,708 examiners across 88 marking venues.

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Results of candidates sponsored by states indebted to WAEC will not be released until payment is made.

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