ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The West African Examinations Council (WAEC), is facing mounting pressure to review aspects of its 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination results following complaints from school administrators, education advocates and an education-focused civil society organisation.
The stakeholders have raised concerns over alleged discrepancies between the performance of some candidates in the WASSCE and their previous academic records, while also questioning the impact of the council’s expanding use of computer-based testing and examination serialisation.
The allegations have not been independently established, while WAEC has defended the credibility of the results, saying they were produced through established quality-control procedures.
At Impact House Model Schools, Mowe, Ogun State, the school’s director, Sam Abdulazeez, said the institution noticed what he described as a significant decline in the performance of its candidates in the 2025 and 2026 WASSCE.
Abdulazeez said the development was unexpected because the school had retained its teaching staff, improved its facilities and intensified preparations for external examinations.
He recalled that in 2024, all 45 candidates presented by the school for Mathematics obtained A1.
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However, he said the results changed considerably in subsequent examinations, particularly after the introduction of serialisation and computer-based testing.
According to him, more than 30 of the school’s 69 candidates who sat the 2026 UTME scored above 300, while none scored below 200.
He said the students had also undergone extensive preparations, including 22 mock UTME examinations designed to familiarise them with computer-based testing.
According to Punch, Abdulazeez noted that the school was therefore surprised by some of the WASSCE grades, particularly in Mathematics and English Language.
He said only about three or four candidates obtained A1 in Mathematics, despite some students having scored as high as 98 in the subject during UTME.
He also expressed concern about the English Language results, saying a number of students who had performed strongly in previous assessments received grades below what the school expected.
The school director said the institution had invested in its facilities after WAEC announced the transition towards computer-based examinations.
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However, he disclosed that the school encountered technical problems during a WAEC mock examination conducted ahead of the 2026 examination.
According to him, attempts to connect the systems to WAEC’s server were unsuccessful, prompting the school to raise concerns with the council’s officials in Ogun State and Lagos.
He said WAEC eventually approved the school to conduct a paper-based examination, although it had initially been listed for the CBT process.
Abdulazeez said the school had experienced what he described as similar concerns with its 2025 results, claiming that some grades appeared to have changed after the results were initially released.
He said the experience prompted the school to delay publishing its 2026 results in anticipation of possible adjustments.
The school director also questioned whether the use of different versions of examination papers, or serialisation, could have contributed to differences in candidate outcomes.
He called for an independent review of the 2026 results, arguing that examination-related problems should not jeopardise students’ educational prospects.
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Another school administrator, who spoke on condition of anonymity, alleged that some candidates with strong UTME performances and previous academic records received D7, E8 and F9 grades in core subjects in the 2026 WASSCE.
The administrator claimed that two affected candidates who had already secured admission to the University of Ibadan were recorded as having failed Mathematics and English Language.
The allegations could not be independently verified.
An educationist, Fola Adekeye, urged examination authorities to ensure that their processes could withstand scrutiny and maintain public confidence.
Adekeye said examination results could have far-reaching consequences for students seeking admission into tertiary institutions and therefore required the highest level of integrity.
He cautioned against making unsubstantiated accusations against WAEC but called for the council to investigate credible complaints and explain any technological or methodological changes affecting examinations.
Adekeye also urged examination bodies to communicate changes in examination methods and curricula clearly before implementation.