2026 WASSCE: 8,295 Results Hit by WAEC Action

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has released the provisional results of the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates, with thousands of results cancelled or withheld following investigations into examination irregularities.

A total of 512,862 candidates from 1,022 schools registered for the examination in Ghana. The figure represents an 11.07% increase over the 461,736 candidates who entered the 2025 examination.

Of the total candidates, 225,270 were male and 287,592 were female, while 5,049 candidates, representing 0.98%, were absent.

8,295 Candidates Affected

WAEC said investigations into reported examination malpractices resulted in action against 8,295 candidates.

The breakdown includes:

7,434 candidates had their subject results cancelled for bringing foreign materials, including prepared notes, textbooks and printed materials, into examination halls.
861 candidates had their entire results cancelled for possessing mobile phones in examination halls.
957 candidates had their subject results withheld over suspected offences.
270 candidates had their entire results withheld over various suspected offences.

The decisions followed the 42nd Meeting of the Ghana Examinations Committee, which approved the actions after investigations into irregularities recorded during the examination.

Results From 169 Schools Still Under Investigation

The examination irregularities investigation is not yet over.

WAEC has also withheld some subject results involving candidates from 169 schools over alleged collusion. These cases remain under investigation, and the affected results could either be released or cancelled depending on the outcome.

WAEC has indicated that investigations into these cases are expected to be concluded by October 30, 2026.

The Council has separately published a notice directing candidates whose results have been withheld to visit its irregularity platform and check details concerning their cases.

Performance Across Core Subjects

WAEC also reported variations in candidate performance in Mathematics, integrated science, and Social Studies over the four years covered by its statistics.

English Language recorded a progressive decline in performance over the same period, according to the examination body’s analysis.

The release of the provisional results now allows candidates to check their individual performance as the examination process moves into its next stage.

For candidates whose results have been cancelled or withheld, however, the outcome of the ongoing investigations will determine what happens to the affected results.

Source: West African Examinations Council (WAEC); Graphic Online.