The 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination results have come under scrutiny after some schools and education stakeholders raised concerns over alleged inconsistencies in the grades awarded to certain candidates.

The concerns emerged following the release of the results by the West African Examinations Council, with some school administrators claiming that students who had previously demonstrated strong academic performance received unexpectedly low grades in the 2026 examination.

Some of the complaints have focused particularly on Mathematics and English Language, alongside other subjects affected by the introduction and expansion of computer-based testing and examination serialisation.

One school administrator, Sam Abdulazeez of Impact House Model Schools in Ogun State, said his institution noticed a significant difference between students' previous performances and their 2026 WAEC grades.

According to him, the school had recorded exceptionally strong results in Mathematics in previous years. He said that in 2024, all 45 candidates presented by the school for Mathematics obtained A1.

He claimed that the pattern changed after the introduction of serialised examinations and computer-based testing. Among 69 candidates presented by the school, he said only about three or four obtained A1 in Mathematics, despite some students recording scores as high as 98 in Mathematics during the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.

The school administrator also alleged that the institution experienced technical problems during a WAEC mock examination conducted ahead of the examination.

He said the school's computers initially failed to connect to the WAEC server, prompting the school to raise concerns with officials. WAEC subsequently approved the institution to conduct the examination on paper.

Other education stakeholders have also raised questions about cases in which students with strong academic records reportedly received D7, E8 and F9 grades in core subjects.

An unnamed school administrator cited by The PUNCH claimed that two students who had already secured admission to the University of Ibadan were recorded as having failed Mathematics and English Language in their newly released WAEC results.

The concerns have prompted calls for greater transparency in the examination and grading process.

Educationist Fola Adekeye urged examination authorities to ensure that their procedures meet the highest standards of integrity. He also called for better communication whenever major changes are introduced to examination methods, curriculum or technology.

Meanwhile, the Initiative for School Excellence and Education Foundation, through its lawyers, has threatened legal action against WAEC over alleged irregularities connected to the conduct and processing of the 2026 computer-based examination.

The organisation has requested the preservation of electronic examination records, including candidate responses, system audit trails, server logs and scoring records. It has also called for an independent review of the computer-based examination platform.

However, WAEC has rejected suggestions that the 2026 results were compromised.

The examination body said the results were produced through established quality-control procedures, including multiple levels of marking, moderation and auditing by subject specialists.

WAEC also urged candidates, parents and schools to avoid relying on unverified claims circulating on social media and advised anyone with concerns about individual results to contact the council through its official channels.

The controversy comes against the backdrop of WAEC's continuing transition toward computer-based examinations. The 2026 WASSCE was the second computer-based WASSCE for school candidates, following the phased introduction of the system in 2025.

The dispute therefore raises broader questions about the reliability of the transition, the transparency of grading procedures and the safeguards available to students when their results appear inconsistent with their academic records.

For now, allegations of grading irregularities remain unproven, while WAEC maintains that the 2026 results were processe

d under established examination standards.