By| Goodluck E.Adubazi, Abuja
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has released the statistics for the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), revealing that more than 1.2 million candidates obtained the minimum requirement of five credits, including English Language and Mathematics.
According to the examination body, a total of 1,959,668 candidates registered for the 2026 WASSCE, while 1,950,726 candidates eventually sat for the examination conducted across 24,207 centres nationwide.
The statistics show that female candidates slightly outnumbered their male counterparts, with 997,267 candidates, representing 51.12 per cent of the total candidature, compared to 953,459 male candidates, representing 48.88 per cent.
WAEC disclosed that 1,834,695 candidates’ results, representing 94.05 per cent, have been fully processed and released.
However, the Council withheld 167,486 results, accounting for 8.59 per cent of the total results, pending the conclusion of investigations into cases of alleged examination malpractice and other irregularities.
The performance analysis further indicated that 1,687,378 candidates, representing 86.50 per cent, obtained a minimum of five credits with or without English Language and Mathematics.
Significantly, 1,200,514 candidates, representing 61.54 per cent of those who sat the examination, secured at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics—the benchmark required for admission into universities and many other tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
The 2026 WASSCE results underscore a strong overall performance, with over 1.2 million candidates meeting the key admission requirement, while female candidates recorded a marginally higher participation rate than their male counterparts.
