‘No question paper leaked’ — WAEC responds to critics, defends 2026 results

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) says technical glitches did not affect the conduct or results of the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

 

Amos Dangut, head of the Nigerian office of WAEC, said no question paper leaked before any of the examination papers was held, attributing the decline in examination malpractice partly to measures introduced by the council.

 

Dangut spoke 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’.

 

His comments came amid concerns from some school owners and other stakeholders who questioned the results released in August, arguing that the performance of some candidates did not reflect their academic abilities.

 

 

Dangut said some of the criticism was linked to resistance to WAEC’s recent changes, including computer-based testing, randomisation and serialisation of questions.

 

“There is a lot of misconception, misrepresentation of the truth about the scenario,” he said.

 

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

 

 

“From 2024, there has been a drop in examination malpractice. Similarly, in 2025, we had a rate of 9.7 percent in examination malpractice, whereas in this year, 2026, the rate dropped to 8.59 — a decline of 1.1 percent.”

 

Dangut said the reduction in malpractice had affected individuals and platforms that previously profited from examination fraud.

 

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

 

“They are part of the aggrieved people that are also fuelling this unnecessary controversy.”

 

 

The WAEC Nigeria boss maintained that the introduction of the new assessment methods had also affected the performance of candidates who previously relied on examination malpractice.

 

“You will also agree that if there is no malpractice, there is no leakage, definitely performance will be affected,” he said.

 

“Because many people that have been used to thriving well, doing well in an environment that allows growth of malpractice will not have that opportunity again.”

 

He attributed delays experienced during the examination to late registration by schools and other logistical challenges.

 

 

According to him, the delay in registration affected WAEC’s preparations, including the printing of examination materials and other logistics.

 

Dangut said schools that were expected to complete registration by December 2025 did not conclude the process until April 2026.

 

 

“You will all recall that until the Federal Minister of Education stepped in, schools were reluctant to come and register,” he said.

 

“Registration of what should have been concluded late December 2025 were not concluded until April 2026.

 

 

“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.”

 

Dangut also cited insecurity as another factor that affected the smooth conduct of the examination.

 

 

He said nationwide protests in May over the kidnapping of Oyo schoolchildren and teachers also partly affected the examination.

 

“Don’t also forget that there was a particular day when teachers strike protesting the kidnapping of students and teachers,” Dangut said.

 

“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 unless stakeholders adapt to the changes introduced by WAEC, “we will continue to have issues which are surmountable”.

 

In August, WAEC released the results of the 2026 WASSCE for school candidates.

 

Announcing the results in Lagos, Dangut said a total of 1,200,514 candidates, representing 61.54 percent, obtained credits and above in at least five subjects, including english and mathematics, out of the 1,950,726 candidates who sat the examination.

 

The number of candidates who obtained credits in five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics, dropped by 2.26 percentage points when compared with the 1,239,884 candidates, representing 62.96 percent, who achieved the same feat in the 2025 WASSCE.

 

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