WAEC: No Question Paper Leaked as 2026 WASSCE Malpractice Falls to 8.59%

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has dismissed claims that technical glitches affected the conduct or results of the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), insisting that no question paper leaked before any examination was held.

Head of the WAEC National Office in Nigeria, Amos Dangut, said the council’s new measures, including computer-based testing, question randomisation and serialisation, contributed to a decline in examination malpractice. He said the changes had, however, generated resistance from some individuals and groups who previously benefited from examination fraud.

Dangut spoke on Thursday at 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.”

His comments followed concerns raised by some school owners and other stakeholders over the 2026 WASSCE results. Some had argued that the performance of certain candidates did not reflect their academic abilities, prompting questions about the factors behind the decline in overall results.

WAEC: 2026 Examination Did Not Leak

Dangut described some of the criticisms surrounding the examination as misconceptions and misrepresentation of facts, maintaining that the integrity of the 2026 WASSCE was not compromised by question-paper leakage.

“This very year, 2026, I can confidently tell the whole world that the WAEC examination did not leak,” he said.

According to him, examination malpractice has continued to decline since 2024. He said the malpractice rate stood at 9.7 percent in 2025 but fell to 8.59 percent in 2026, representing a decline of about 1.1 percentage points.

Dangut linked the decline to the measures introduced by WAEC to make malpractice more difficult. He said cyber fraud platforms, cybercafes and other operators that previously profited from examination malpractice were among those affected by the changes.

“The cyber rogue websites, cyber cafes that engage in fraudulent activities or malpractice, they did not thrive. So they were angered,” he said.

The WAEC boss also argued that candidates who previously relied on malpractice could naturally record lower scores when such opportunities were removed. He said the introduction of more secure assessment methods had therefore contributed to the change in performance.

Late Registration, Insecurity Affected Examination

Dangut attributed some of the delays experienced during the examination to late registration by schools, saying the development disrupted WAEC’s preparations for printing examination materials and arranging other logistics.

He said schools expected to complete registration by December 2025 did not conclude the process until April 2026. According to him, the late registration meant that some examination materials had to be printed after the examination had already commenced.

“It was when the examination actually started that WAEC had to now go to the press to start printing. And that affected the logistics, the conduct of examinations,” he said.

He also identified insecurity and protests over the kidnapping of schoolchildren and teachers as factors that affected the smooth conduct of some papers.

Dangut recalled that teachers withdrew from examination duties during protests over the abduction of Oyo schoolchildren and teachers, forcing WAEC to make adjustments in some affected centres.

“On that very day, the supervisors we had down tools. They said they were not going to hold the exam. And before we could salvage situation, it was late for some of the schools,” he said.

He urged stakeholders to adapt to WAEC’s changing examination system, warning that resistance to the reforms could continue to generate unnecessary controversies.

“Unless we adapt to these changes, we will continue to have issues which are surmountable,” Dangut said.

1.2 Million Candidates Record Five Credits

WAEC released the results of the 2026 WASSCE for school candidates in August, with 1,200,514 candidates, representing 61.54 percent of the 1,950,726 candidates who sat the examination, obtaining credits and above in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.

The figure represents a decline from the 1,239,884 candidates, or 62.96 percent, who achieved the same benchmark in the 2025 WASSCE. The difference amounts to a 2.26 percentage-point drop in the proportion of candidates meeting the requirement.

Dangut also said WAEC had processed and released the results of 1,834,695 candidates, representing 94.05 percent of those who sat the examination, while the results of 116,031 candidates, representing 5.95 percent, were still being processed.