The West African Examinations Council has defended the integrity of the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination results amid concerns raised by some schools, parents and education stakeholders over unexpectedly low grades.
The Head of WAEC’s Nigeria National Office, Dr Amos Dangut, dismissed claims that technical glitches affected the results, saying the council’s marking, processing and moderation procedures remained credible.
Dangut spoke on Thursday during a virtual dialogue organised by the Education Writers Association of Nigeria, themed “Addressing Concerns Over 2026 WASSCE Results, Other Matters.”
He urged schools, parents and other stakeholders with concerns about candidates’ results to approach WAEC directly for clarification rather than relying on unverified claims circulating on social media.
According to him, the council introduced several technological innovations in the conduct and processing of the examination, including computer based assessment, as well as the randomisation and serialisation of questions.
He said the reforms had helped reduce examination malpractice and strengthened the credibility and transparency of the examination process.
Dangut disclosed that examination malpractice declined from 9.97 per cent in 2025 to 8.59 per cent in 2026, describing the reduction as one of the positive outcomes of the reforms.
However, some schools and parents have questioned the 2026 results, particularly the low grades recorded by candidates in English Language and Mathematics.
The concerns arose after some schools said their students’ WASSCE performances were inconsistent with their previous academic records, mock examination results and achievements.
Some stakeholders consequently called on WAEC to review the results of candidates whose performances appeared significantly different from their established academic records.
Speaking during the dialogue, the Principal of Babcock School, Remo, Ogun State, Mr Fatola Samson, described the 2026 WASSCE results as the worst recorded by the school in its 31-year history.
Samson said 190 students from the school sat for the examination, but only 27 obtained satisfactory results, while several candidates failed subjects including Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry.
The development has prompted calls for greater clarification from WAEC, particularly on concerns surrounding the processing of results and the performance of candidates whose grades differ sharply from their previous academic records.
WAEC, however, maintained that its examination procedures remained credible and urged stakeholders to seek official clarification on individual cases rather than rely on unverified reports.
