Annette Ikponmwonba | August 18 2026
Keypoints
- Schools and education stakeholders are questioning the accuracy of some 2026 WASSCE results.
- Some administrators report unusually low grades among students who performed strongly in UTME and previous examinations.
- Concerns have also been raised about CBT technical glitches, serialisation and result processing.
- A legal group has demanded that WAEC preserve electronic examination records and allow an independent audit.
- WAEC has defended the results, saying they went through established marking, moderation and quality-assurance procedures.
- No independent evidence has yet established that the 2026 results were wrongly graded.
Main Story
The West African Examinations Council is facing growing scrutiny over the integrity of its newly released 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination results for school candidates, The controversy centres on allegations by school administrators and education advocates that some high-performing students received unexpectedly low grades, particularly in core subjects such as Mathematics and English Language.
Sam Abdulazeez, Director of Impact House Model Schools in Mowe, Ogun State, said his school’s WASSCE performance had declined significantly despite maintaining its teaching staff, improving facilities and intensifying examination preparation.
He cited Mathematics as a particular concern. In 2024, all 45 candidates presented by the school reportedly obtained A1 in Mathematics. In 2026, however, only about three or four of the school’s 69 candidates obtained A1.
Abdulazeez also pointed to the school’s UTME performance, saying more than 30 of its 69 candidates scored above 300 in JAMB, while none scored below 200.
He questioned why students who performed strongly in a computer-based examination such as UTME could experience such a significant decline in their WASSCE results.
Other school administrators have made similar complaints, including claims that some students with strong academic records received D7, E8 and F9 grades in core subjects.
The Issues
CBT and technical problems
Schools have alleged that technical problems occurred during WAEC’s transition to computer-based examinations. Abdulazeez claimed that a WAEC mock examination at his school experienced difficulties connecting to the council’s server, If substantiated, such incidents would raise questions about whether candidates’ responses were properly captured and processed.
Serialisation
Stakeholders have also questioned the use of different versions of examination papers, The argument is that candidates answering different versions of a paper must be properly standardised to ensure that differences in difficulty do not unfairly influence grades.
Standardisation and grade boundaries
The Initiative for School Excellence and Education Foundation has asked WAEC to disclose raw-score distributions and the thresholds used to determine grades such as A1, B2, B3 and C4, This information could help independent experts determine whether the grading outcomes were statistically unusual.
Result processing
There are also allegations of discrepancies between results initially displayed and subsequent results. These claims require documentary evidence and clarification from WAEC.
Different examination modes
Questions have been raised about whether candidates who took examinations under different conditions including CBT and paper-based examinations were appropriately standardised as one population.
What’s Being Said
Schools: Administrators say some results do not appear consistent with their students’ previous academic performance and UTME scores. They are calling for an independent review.
Education advocates: Stakeholders such as Fola Adekeye say examination bodies must ensure that their processes can withstand public scrutiny and should proactively investigate credible complaints.
Legal campaigners: The Initiative for School Excellence and Education Foundation, through its solicitors, has demanded preservation of electronic records and an independent technical audit of the 2026 CBT system.
WAEC: The council has defended the integrity of the results, saying the examinations followed established procedures and that candidates’ scripts underwent multiple levels of marking, moderation and auditing.
WAEC has also urged candidates, parents and schools to avoid relying on unverified claims circulating on social media and to contact the council through its official channels when they have concerns.
What’s Next
The immediate question is whether the allegations will result in a transparent and independently verifiable investigation, The legal group has given WAEC 14 days to respond to its demands, including preservation of electronic records and establishment of procedures through which affected candidates can inspect their examination records.
If WAEC does not engage with the demands, the organisation has threatened legal action seeking disclosure and verification of relevant examination records, Affected candidates and schools may also continue approaching WAEC to request reviews of disputed results.
For the controversy to be conclusively resolved, stakeholders would need access subject to appropriate privacy safeguards to relevant technical logs, response records, marking and moderation documentation, and information about the standardisation process.
Bottom Line
The 2026 WASSCE controversy is currently a dispute over the credibility of the results, not proof that WAEC’s grading system failed, The reported discrepancies are serious enough to justify scrutiny, particularly where schools can provide documented evidence of technical problems or unusually inconsistent results. But strong UTME performance alone does not prove that a WASSCE grade is incorrect.
