The West African Examinations Council has announced that it has withheld the results of 215,267 candidates from the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination due to alleged examination malpractice.
Head of the National Office, Dr. Amos Dangut, revealed the news in Lagos on Monday. He said, “The withheld results are due to various reported cases of examination malpractice.”
He added that the number of affected candidates represents 11.92 percent of those who took the exam, which is 4.37 percent lower than the previous year.
Dangut noted that issues such as the use of cell phones during the exam and organized cheating in some schools were major concerns. He stated, “The increasing use of cell phones in the examination hall, despite the ban, and organized cheating are other nagging issues.”
All cases of malpractice are under investigation, and reports will be reviewed by the council’s committee. The decisions will be communicated to the affected candidates through their schools. Dangut urged candidates affected by these decisions to seek redress through the WAEC website at [waecinternational.org](https://waecinternational.org).
In his address, Dangut provided further details about the examination. Out of the 1,814,736 candidates who registered, 1,805,216 actually sat for the exam. Of these, 1,685,889 candidates, or 93.39 percent, have had their results fully processed and released. However, 119,327 candidates, or 6.61 percent, still have some subjects being processed.
He also highlighted that 1,332,089 candidates, or 73.79 percent, obtained credits in a minimum of five subjects, with or without English Language and Mathematics. Furthermore, 1,301,941 candidates, or 72.12 percent, earned credits in five subjects including English Language and Mathematics.
Dangut mentioned that special arrangements were made for candidates with special needs. “A total of 109,115 candidates with varying degrees of special needs were registered. Their results have been processed and released along with those of other candidates,” he said.
The WAEC boss also discussed several challenges faced during the exam, including security issues, financial constraints, and delays in registration. “The ‘Sit-at-home’ order in the Southeast and industrial actions by the NLC affected the exam schedule,” he said.
He urged all stakeholders to cooperate to avoid future issues. “We plead for cooperation and understanding to make future exams less stressful,” Dangut added. He also mentioned that candidates could access their results online at [waecdirect.org](http://www.waecdirect.org) and apply for their Digital Certificate within 48 hours.
Dangut concluded by stating that results for candidates from schools with unpaid fees will be withheld until payment is made. “Copies of certificates for candidates with fully processed results will be available within the next 90 days,” he said.
