The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) may face legal action following allegations of irregularities in the results of the 2026 Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
Education consultant and Chief Executive Officer of Educare, Alex Onyia, raised the alarm shortly after WAEC released the 2026 WASSCE results, alleging that a major technical glitch affected candidates who took the computer-based examination.
Onyia called on WAEC to immediately withdraw and review the affected results, warning that he would challenge the examination body in court if the alleged problems were not addressed.
He argued that the reported irregularities could have serious consequences for candidates seeking admission into tertiary institutions, particularly those whose results may determine their eligibility for further education.
The allegations have generated concern among some candidates and parents, with calls for WAEC to conduct a transparent investigation into the claims and, where necessary, correct affected results.
WAEC released the 2026 WASSCE results last week, reporting that 1,200,514 candidates, representing 61.54 per cent of those who sat the examination, obtained credits in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics. The council also withheld the results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59 per cent, over alleged examination malpractice.
The 2026 examination marked WAEC’s second use of the Computer-Based WASSCE format for school candidates. The council had earlier expanded the adoption of CBT, with about 450 schools opting for the computer-based format in 2026.
The latest controversy comes against the backdrop of technical problems that affected the 2025 WASSCE results. WAEC temporarily withdrew access to the result portal in 2025 after identifying errors linked to the processing of some results and subsequently reviewed and corrected the affected results.
Onyia’s latest concerns have therefore renewed questions about the reliability of computer-based assessment and the safeguards being used to ensure that technical or processing errors do not adversely affect candidates.
However, the allegations remain unproven. Reports available at the time of publication indicate that WAEC had not publicly issued a detailed response specifically addressing Onyia’s latest claim of a major CBT-related glitch.
The controversy is likely to intensify if WAEC does not address the concerns raised by affected candidates and stakeholders, particularly as university admission processes depend heavily on WASSCE results.
For now, candidates and parents have been advised to rely on official WAEC channels for information concerning result verification, withheld results and any possible corrections.
