The West African Examinations Council has decided to hold back the results of 167,486 candidates who sat for the 2026 Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination for School Candidates. The affected group makes up about 8.59% of the total number of students who wrote the exam, with the decision coming after various reports of exam malpractice.
Sharing the details in Lagos, the Head of the National Office, Dr. Amos Josiah Dangut, pointed out that while this year’s malpractice figure shows a slight improvement from the 9.7% recorded last year, cheating remains a major concern. He specifically highlighted the stubborn challenge of candidates sneaking mobile phones into exam halls despite strict bans, alongside instances of organised cheating coordinated within certain schools.
According to reports from Zoyols News, the examination body has made it clear that it will not tolerate actions that undermine the educational system. School officials, supervisors, and teachers found helping students cheat are already being rounded up and will face disciplinary actions through their respective state education ministries. Candidates who want to challenge the decision regarding their withheld results have been advised to submit their appeals through the official international complaints portal.
On a brighter note, the vast majority of candidates successfully completed the process, with 1,200,514 students securing credits in at least five subjects, including the compulsory English Language and Mathematics. This represents about 61.54% of the total candidates, showing a minor drop from the 62.96% pass rate recorded in the previous year.
The exam saw a massive turnout across Nigeria and neighbouring countries like Benin Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, and Equatorial Guinea, with over 1.95 million candidates participating. Interestingly, female candidates took the lead in academic performance, representing over 641,000 of those who cleared the core English and Mathematics requirements, compared to about 558,000 male candidates.
For students eager to see how they performed, the examination body confirmed that over 94% of the results have been fully processed and are ready online. A small percentage of results are still undergoing routine technical processing. Candidates can easily check their status online and generate their access pins directly from the official portal. Digital certificates will be ready for download just 48 hours after checking, while printed copies will be sent to schools within three months.
However, students from states currently owing the council for registration sponsorship will have to wait, as their results will remain blocked until their state governments settle the outstanding fees.
The 2026 exam marks the second time the council has successfully used the computer-based format for school candidates. Reflecting on the achievement, Dr. Dangut, who is marking his final briefing in this role, expressed pride in the technological advancements introduced during his tenure, such as the digital marking system and the secure scrambling of question papers, both of which have gone a long way in preserving the credibility of the test.
