WAEC Withholds Results of Over 215,000 Candidates Due to Malpractice

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has withheld the results of 215,267 candidates from the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) due to reported cases of examination malpractice. This figure represents 11.92% of the 1,805,216 candidates who took the examination, which was conducted across four WAEC member countries—Nigeria, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, and Liberia—from April 30 to June 24, 2024.

Dr. Amos Dangut, the Head of the Nigeria Office of WAEC, announced the development on Monday while releasing the 2024 WASSCE results. He noted that the percentage of withheld results this year is 4.37% lower than the 16.29% recorded in 2023. Despite the decline, Dangut expressed concern over the persistent issue of examination malpractice, emphasizing that WAEC will continue to take stringent measures against those involved.

"The increasing use of mobile phones in examination halls, despite the existing ban, and organized cheating in some schools are ongoing challenges," Dangut stated. He assured that all reported cases of malpractice are under investigation and that the outcomes would be presented to the appropriate committee of the Council for final decisions. Affected candidates will be informed of the committee’s decisions through their respective schools, with an option to seek redress via the WAEC website.

In terms of overall performance, Dangut revealed that 73.79% of candidates achieved credit or higher in at least five subjects, with or without English Language and Mathematics. This translates to 1,332,089 candidates out of the total who sat for the examination.

He also encouraged candidates to apply for their Digital Certificates after checking their results online, which will be available 48 hours after the results are uploaded. Additionally, he confirmed that candidates who have met their financial obligations to WAEC can access their results on the Council’s website within the next 12 hours, and that result listings would be dispatched to schools shortly.