The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has withheld the 2026 Computer-Based WASSCE results for thousands of candidates because the states that sponsored them have not settled their outstanding debts with the council. This was confirmed by Dr. Amos Josiah Dangut, Head of the WAEC Nigeria National Office, during a press briefing on Wednesday.
Debt-Related Withholdings
Dr. Dangut stated that results for candidates sponsored by indebted states will remain unreleased until the payments are made. He appealed to the affected state governments to clear their debts promptly to enable the candidates and their schools to access the results. The names of the affected states were not disclosed.
Malpractice Withholdings
In addition to the debt issue, WAEC withheld the results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59% of the total examinees, due to confirmed examination malpractice. This percentage is 1.11% lower than the 9.7% recorded in the 2025 WASSCE. Dr. Dangut highlighted the persistent use of mobile phones in examination halls despite the ban, as well as coordinated cheating in some schools. He also noted that supervisors and invigilators found to have aided cheating have been apprehended.
2026 WASSCE Statistics
The 2026 WASSCE was conducted from April 24 to June 19, 2026. A total of 102,708 examiners worked across 88 marking venues. Additionally, 1,213 candidates with special needs participated, including 137 with visual impairments and 491 with hearing difficulties.
How to Check Results
Candidates whose results have been released can access them online within 12 hours at waecdirect.org. WAEC has also launched a dedicated portal for candidates to generate their e-PINs. Digital certificates will be available 48 hours after checking results, while physical copies are expected within 90 days.
Government Measures Against Malpractice
Earlier, the federal government introduced new measures to combat examination malpractice in the Senior School Certificate Examination, which is crucial for tertiary institution admissions. These measures apply to examinations conducted by WAEC, the National Examination Council (NECO), and the National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB).
