WAEC under fire over 2026 results, alleged grading anomalies

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) is facing scrutiny over the alleged grading anomalies and technical glitches in the recently released 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination results. School administrators and education advocates have raised concerns over the integrity of the grading process, particularly for high-performing students.

Sam Abdulazeez, Director of Impact House Model Schools in Mowe, Ogun State, shared that the school had consistently maintained strong performance in the WASSCE, particularly in Mathematics and English Language. However, in the 2026 examination, only about three to four students out of the 69 presented for Mathematics obtained A1, while the rest received B grades or lower.

This discrepancy is evident in other subjects as well, with some students who performed well in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) receiving lower grades in WASSCE.

Abdulazeez attributed the decline in performance to the introduction of Computer-Based Testing (CBT) and serialisation. He mentioned that the school had conducted 22 mock-UTME examinations and used computers to simulate the examination environment, but these preparations did not yield the desired results. Technical issues during the mock examination further added to the school's concerns about the reliability of the CBT system.

The school director also raised concerns about the possible impact of different versions of examination papers and the serialisation process. He noted that subjects with serialisation, such as Mathematics and English, faced more significant grading discrepancies compared to subjects without serialisation. Abdulazeez joined stakeholders in calling for an independent review of the 2026 WASSCE results to ensure the fairness and accuracy of the grading process.