2026 WAEC: Pass Rate Drops Slightly as 61.54% Obtain Five Credits
A total of 1,200,514 candidates, representing 61.54 per cent of those who sat the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), obtained five credits and above, including English Language and Mathematics, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) announced on Wednesday.
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has announced that 61.54 per cent of candidates who sat the 2026 Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (CB-WASSCE) for School Candidates obtained at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics, the minimum requirement for admission into most tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
Announcing the release of the results in Lagos on Wednesday, the Head of WAEC’s Nigeria National Office, Dr. Amos Josiah Dangut, said 1,200,514 out of the 1,950,726 candidates who wrote the examination attained the benchmark.
According to him, 558,883 of the successful candidates, representing 28.65 per cent, were male, while 641,631, representing 32.89 per cent, were female.
WAEC, however, noted that the performance represents a 1.42 percentage point decline compared with the 2025 WASSCE, when a higher proportion of candidates achieved five credits, including English Language and Mathematics.
Beyond the university admission benchmark, the Council disclosed that 1,687,378 candidates, representing 86.50 per cent, obtained credits and above in at least five subjects, with or without English Language and Mathematics.
Of the 1,959,668 candidates who registered for the examination, 1,950,726 eventually sat the test, comprising 953,459 males (48.88 per cent) and 997,267 females (51.12 per cent).
WAEC said 1,834,695 candidates (94.05 per cent) had their results fully processed and released, while the results of 116,031 candidates (5.95 per cent) were still being processed due to issues being resolved.
The Council also withheld the results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59 per cent of the total number of candidates, over alleged involvement in examination malpractice. It said the figure was lower than the 9.7 per cent recorded in 2025.
Dr. Dangut attributed the reduction in malpractice cases to innovations introduced by the Council, including computer-based examinations, improved paper serialisation and the Digital Examiner Marking System (DEMS), which have strengthened examination integrity and accelerated result processing.
He urged schools, parents and candidates to continue supporting WAEC’s efforts to eliminate examination malpractice and improve the credibility of public examinations in Nigeria.
