WAEC is getting tough questions after putting out the 2026 WASSCE results for secondary school students.
School owners and education advocates say the results don’t match what students achieved in class and in other exams. Most of the complaints are about WAEC’s move to Computer-Based Testing and the use of different versions of question papers.
Sam Abdulazeez, who runs Impact House Model Schools in Mowe, Ogun State, revealed to Punch Newspaper that his school’s performance dropped in 2025 and 2026, even though the teachers and preparation stayed the same.
The school has written WASSCE since 2017 and was known for strong results in Maths and English. In 2024, all 45 students scored A1 in Mathematics.
That changed after WAEC brought in serialised papers and pushed CBT.
“This year we entered 69 students for JAMB. More than 30 scored above 300. No one had less than 200,” Abdulazeez said. “We did 22 computer practice tests. But in WASSCE, only 3 or 4 got A1 in Maths. For English, most got B2 and B3, with just 3 credits.”
The school invested in computers for CBT. But during WAEC’s mock test, the system couldn’t connect to the server for two days. The school reported the issue to WAEC officials in Ogun and Lagos and said it was too risky. WAEC later approved paper exams for them, even though they were listed for CBT.
Abdulazeez said 2025 was similar. Some results first showed as B and C, then later changed to A1 and B on the portal.
He also questioned serialisation. He believes it affected Maths, English, Economics and Biology. Subjects with fewer paper versions had better outcomes.
“Some people blame CBT and say students don’t study. But JAMB has used CBT for years,” he added. “When effort doesn’t reflect in the result, something is wrong.”
Another principal, who asked not to be named, said some students with high JAMB scores got D7, E8 and F9 in core subjects this year. Two of them had already been offered admission to the University of Ibadan but were marked as failing Maths and English.
Educationist Fola Adekeye said WAEC should address problems before they blow up. “Exams decide a child’s future. The people handling them must do better,” he said. He urged WAEC to improve its systems and explain changes clearly to schools.
The Initiative for School Excellence and Education Foundation has gone a step further. Through its lawyers, the group asked WAEC to keep all digital records and allow an independent review of the CBT platform. They gave WAEC 14 days to respond or face court action.
ISEE founder Alex Onyia is also calling for openness. He wants WAEC to release raw scores and explain how students who wrote different versions of papers were graded.
WAEC has defended the process. Head of Public Affairs Moyosola Adesina said the 2026 results went through careful marking, review and checks. She said the exam followed standard procedures with the Federal Ministry of Education, and asked people to send complaints to WAEC offices instead of social media.
This is not the first time an exam body has faced criticism. In 2025, former JAMB Registrar Prof. Ishaq Oloyede publicly apologized for errors in that year’s UTME.