The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has asked schools and candidates dissatisfied with the recently released 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results to apply for a review, saying outstanding review requests will be processed within two weeks.
The Head of the Nigerian Office of WAEC, Amos Dangut, disclosed this on Thursday during the monthly dialogue organised by the Education Writers Association of Nigeria (EWAN), themed “One-on-One with WAEC HNO: Addressing Concerns over WASSCE Results, Other Matters.” EWAN is a network of journalists committed to advancing education reportage across Nigeria’s print, broadcast and digital media.
He gave the assurance amid growing concerns over unexpectedly poor performances in the 2026 WASSCE, with school owners, parents and other stakeholders calling for an independent review of the results and the marking process.
DevReporting reports that the concerns have heightened anxiety among affected candidates and their families, particularly those whose results could affect their admission into tertiary institutions and future opportunities.
The dialogue also came amid wider concerns over the conduct of the examination, including delays that left some candidates at examination centres until late at night and questions surrounding the introduction of the computer-based test (CBT) mode.
Recall that some schools, parents and candidates have questioned the unexpectedly poor performance recorded in the examination, especially among candidates who opted for the CBT mode.
Following the volume of complaints, particularly on social media, the chairman of EWAN, Mojeed Alabi, asked the HNO whether an independent panel involving parents, academics and other experts could examine the WASSCE results and the processes that produced them beyond WAEC’s internal review mechanism.
“Would you advocate for an independent or third-party review of the processes and of the results issued by WAEC?” Mr Alabi asked, saying the fate of some students seeking admission into tertiary institutions was hanging in the balance.
Schools raise concerns over unexpected results
The Principal of Babcock University High School, Ilishan Remo, Ogun State, Fatola Samson, expressed that his school had recorded what he described as its worst WASSCE performance in more than three decades.
He said out of 190 students that sat the examination, only 27 passed Mathematics, while just 30 out of 150 students passed Chemistry.
Mr Samson said the school had submitted an appeal to WAEC in August but had yet to receive an official response. According to him, some affected students had performed well in post-UTME examinations but were now unable to secure admission because of their WASSCE results.
“Parents, candidates are crying. There are people whose admission hopes have been dashed this year,” he said, appealing to WAEC to call for an independent review of the results.”
The proprietor of Sound Mind Secondary School in Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State, Peter Ogunkunle, said his school had invested heavily to meet WAEC’s requirements for computer-based testing, including internet facilities, computers and network-based closed-circuit television (CCTV). “We put every requirement in place and it was certified before exams but to our greatest surprise, when the result came out, it turned out to be the worst since we started presenting students for exams four years ago,”
He said the school’s results had deteriorated significantly after adopting the CBT mode, with one student who had previously scored A1 in Mathematics in the GCE he took in SS2 reportedly receiving a D7 in the same subject in the WASSCE.
Mr Ogunkunle said the situation raised questions about whether there could have been problems with the new examination system and urged WAEC to investigate and establish what went wrong. “I have written formally asking that the scripts be reviewed and am waiting for feedback from WAEC. The letter was acknowledged but I think we will need to check and be sure that indeed WAEC is fully ready for this CBT as people have written that we seem to be toying with destinies of people whose admission hope has been dashed this year,” he lamented.
School owners at the dialogue disputed the HNO’s suggestion that the performance recorded by some schools could be attributed to inability to engage in malpractice this year. They insisted that many standard schools with strict anti-malpractice policies had also recorded unexpectedly poor results.
A participant from Al-Medinah Model School, Obada-Oko in Ogun State, Ambali Ibrahim declared that his school has “zero tolerance” for malpractice but had nevertheless submitted a complaint after what he described as disappointing results.
He said several schools had raised similar concerns and urged WAEC to examine the situation rather than generalise about the causes of the poor performance.
WAEC defends results, opens review pathway
Responding to the concerns, Mr Dangut said that all those who perceive that their candidates do not have the right scores or grades are at liberty to appeal the awarded grades following the laid down procedures.
Mr Dangut maintained that WAEC had followed the appropriate procedures and said the council would rely on evidence and statistics rather than public sentiment. He also said the Council will soon release statistics comparing candidates’ performances in 2025 and 2026.
Preliminary figures, he said, showed that candidates performed better in some critical subjects in 2026 than they did in the previous year.
Citing English Language as an example, he noted that the proportion of candidates who obtained C6 and above stood at 69.31 per cent in 2026 as cumulative, compared to 64.58 per cent recorded in 2025.
He also noted that the proportion of candidates who obtained B2 and above in English Language increased from 0.41 per cent in 2025 to 1.75 per cent in 2026. “For the E8 grade, we have 84.26 per cent in 2025 and 96.74 per cent in 2026. So in all the critical grades, the candidates this year, performed better than what they did last year.
“But then if you come to general mathematics, you will find that the grade for C6 was 88.66 per cent last year while this year is 84.03 percent, a slight drop. Then for B2, 12.1 percent for last year and 13.55 per cent for this year, which indicates an improvement. So if you study the trend in all the subjects as it has been through the years, there is always a fluctuation in performance.”
Mr Dangut reiterated that candidates or schools who believe their grades do not reflect their performance can apply for a review, cautioning that a review does not automatically mean a higher score. “If anybody is not okay with the grades, there is a pathway which we have been towing throughout the years.”
He disclosed that the review costs about N6,000 per script, assuring that WAEC would accelerate the processing of outstanding reviews, expected to be completed within two weeks.
While the demand for an independent review remained unresolved, participants questioned whether candidates would be refunded if a paid review established that the error was caused by WAEC.
The EWAN chairman argued that WAEC’s internal review alone might not satisfy stakeholders, particularly because the council had withdrawn results in the previous year after identifying problems. “Does it mean that WAEC does not want to expose its details to the outside, or WAEC wants to make more money by subjecting people to pay for review?” he asked.
Mr Dangut defended the fee, saying it is part of the cost of conducting the exercise. He further noted that the council had subjected the results to additional scrutiny before their release, noting that the results were initially scheduled for release on Monday, 3 August but were delayed until Wednesday, 5 August to allow for further checks before the eventual release.
WAEC dismisses concerns over examination disruptions
The discussion also examined whether logistical challenges, protests and other disruptions during the examination could have affected candidates’ results.
Mr Dangut emphatically said that challenges did not affect the integrity of the results. He also responded to concerns raised about candidates who performed below expectations in WASSCE despite having strong records in examinations such as the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and international examinations.
The HNO said differences in examination standards, syllabuses, assessment methods and individual aptitudes could produce different outcomes for the same candidate.
“JAMB is a ranking test. It is not an achievement test,” he said, distinguishing UTME from WASSCE, which he described as an examination designed to assess what students have learnt in school.
Mr Dangut cautioned against assuming that strong performance in one examination would automatically translate into similar performance in another. He advised candidates to prepare with the appropriate WAEC syllabus, chief examiners’ reports and other resources provided by the examination body.
WAEC, he added, had introduced a virtual examination environment and provided past questions and answers to help candidates familiarise themselves with the examination process.
“How can you sit for an examination without the right resources that will give you the success you need?” he asked.
Mr Dangut maintained that differences in syllabuses, approaches and individual aptitudes remained important factors in determining candidates’ performance across different examinations.
Late directive limited WAEC’s CBT rollout
Only about 200 of more than 25,000 schools enrolled for the 2026 WASSCE opted for the computer-based test (CBT) mode according to Mr Dangut.
He explained that WAEC had initially planned to deploy computer-based assessment more widely, particularly in urban and semi-urban areas.
According to him, schools in rural areas without adequate technological infrastructure were expected to retain the traditional paper-and-pencil format.
“It was only the rural schools that did not have access to technology that would have conducted the pen and paper,” he said.
However, Mr Dangut said the plan changed following a directive from the Federal Ministry of Education close to the examination period, after WAEC had already made preparations based on the initial CBT plan.
He said the late directive limited the council’s ability to implement computer-based assessment on the scale initially envisaged.
As a result, CBT was used by less than one per cent of the schools that participated in the 2026 WASSCE, with the overwhelming majority continuing with the paper-and-pencil format.
Responding to a question on why the results of blind candidates had not yet been released, the HNO said their results had been released. He, however, acknowledged that some results were still pending, but said this was not related to malpractice.
“Those that have issues with their components, we take time to resolve them manually. So there are some that we are taking time to resolve the queries on them,” he said.