The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) on Wednesday released the provisional results for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for Private Candidates, 2026 First Series.

The session involved 23,410 candidates comprising 9,980 males and 13,430 females.

A total of 746 registered candidates did not attend the examination. A statement signed by the Head of Public Affairs of WAEC, John Kapi, said due to detected malpractices during the conduct and marking of the examination scripts, the council had withheld the subject results of 76 candidates and withheld the entire results of 87 candidates.

Reasons

“The (WAEC) page will display specific reasons for withholding the result and provide the next line of action,” it said.

It cautioned the public against scammers promising to "upgrade" results for a fee via mobile money since WAEC's database was secured, and that all results could be authenticated.

In terms of performance, it said 6,486 candidates had A1-C6 (55.94 per cent) in English Language while 6,675 (37.84 per cent) had A1-C6 in Core Mathematics with 3,679 (28.13 per cent, having A1-C6 in Integrated Science.

Others

In Social Studies, 8,131 (75.10) had A1-C6). In English Language, 1,625 (14.02 per cent) had D7 while 1,926 (10.92 per cent) had D7 in Core Mathematics with 1,743 (13.33 per cent), having D7 in Integrated Science.

A total of 660 (6.10 per cent) had D7 in Social Studies, while 1,604 (13.83 per cent) scored E8 in English Language and 2,103 (11.92 per cent) E8 in Core Mathematic as well as 2,413 recording E8 in Integrated Science.

A total of 533 (4.92 per cent) had E8 in Social Studies.
Moreover, 1,879 (16.21 per cent) had F9 in English Language while 6,936 (39.32 per cent) got F9 in Core Mathematics and 5,239 (40.06 per cent), F9 in Integrated Science.

For Social Studies, 1,503 (13.88 per cent) got F9.

WAEC said candidates with withheld results should follow the outlined procedures to address any issues, as investigations into malpractice cases continue.

At a lecture in Accra, the Technical Advisor to the Minister of Education, Prof. George K.T. Oduro, charged Ghanaians to uphold integrity in assessment.

That, according to him, was critical in ensuring the credibility of examinations.

"So my simple message is that as Ghanaians, when it comes to assessment, let us uphold integrity," he said when he delivered a lecture at the 74th Annual Council

Meeting of WAEC in Accra.

It was on the topic: “Fostering assessment integrity within a cultural context of credentialism”

Prof. Oduro said integrity was of utmost importance and critical in assessment and that "if we uphold integrity, we would support studying and understanding to avoid malpractices.

Those malpractices, he said, included cheating that undermined examination.

"So, we should all try and place integrity at the centre even as we prepare children for the upcoming May-June examination," he said.

Prof. Oduro called for support for candidates taking the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination for School Candidates (WASSCE-SC).

He said teachers must teach students to understand context, not just teach them to pass the examination. Again, he said parents must support and encourage them, not wait for a shortcut to pass.

"Because when you compromise to help your child pass, you destroy the child's future.

The child enters university and cannot cope. But if the child understands, he would be able to cope," he said.