WAEC drives exam malpractice to 8-year low with CBT, paper serialisation

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has successfully driven examination malpractice to its lowest level in eight years, a milestone achieved through the deployment of Computer-Based Testing (CBT) and the serialisation of examination papers.

Amos Dangut, the Head of the Nigeria National Office at WAEC, announced on Wednesday that 167,486 results were withheld in the 2026 computer-based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (CB-WASSCE) for school candidates. This figure represents 8.59 percent of the total candidates who sat for the exam, marking a significant drop from the 9.7 percent recorded in 2025.

“The results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59 percent of the total number of candidates that sat the examination, are being withheld in connection with various reported cases of examination malpractice.

“This is 1.11 percent lower than the 9.7 percent recorded in the WASSCE for School Candidates, 2025,” he explained.

The council’s anti-malpractice framework has been upgraded over the past few cycles. Dangut explained that WAEC has continuously innovated to outsmart systemic cheating, shifting from traditional enforcement to tech-driven preventative measures.

“From last year, we added another spice to it by introducing the serialisation of papers, and this year, we improved on it even more alongside the CB-WASSCE rollout,” Dangut stated.

Serialisation ensures that no two candidates receive test questions in the same sequence, making physical collusion and answer-sharing nearly impossible in the exam hall. To complement this, WAEC introduced the Digital Examiner Mark System (DEMS), which Dangut noted has drastically improved service delivery and saved critical time in processing and releasing results seamlessly.

Moyo Adesina, the WAEC spokesperson, told BusinessDay that the council, in addition to serialisation and digitalisation of examinations, also embarked on sensitisation on the negative impacts of examination malpractice across many schools.

Besides, she said that WAEC has in place a cyber-team that monitors its examinations and is taking punitive actions against roadside operators and individuals aiding examination malpractice in Nigeria.

Read also: WAEC announces CB-WASSCE for school candidates 2026 results

An eight-year decline

These measures seem to be paying off as incidents of examination malpractice is reducing. A review of the data from the last eight examination cycles reveals a landscape that eventually stabilised under WAEC’s recent interventions.

In 2019, the council withheld 180,205 results, representing 11.28 percent of total candidates. This figure climbed to 215,149 (13.98 percent) in 2020 before easing down to 170,146 (10.90 percent) in 2021.

However, the system experienced a severe shock in 2022, when 365,564 candidates—22.83 percent of all test-takers—had their results withheld due to examination malpractice.

Following the aggressive integration of digital anti-cheating measures and paper serialisation, the numbers entered a steep, uninterrupted decline. Withheld results dropped sharply to 262,803 (16.29 percent) in 2023 and fell further to 215,267 (11.92 percent) in 2024. By 2025, the rate broke into single digits, resting at 192,089 (9.75 percent), before culminating in the 2026 low of 167,486 withheld results, accounting for just 8.59 percent of the total candidate pool.

Stricter enforcement and public sensitisation

Beyond technology, WAEC has intensified its collaboration with security agencies, including the Nigeria Police Force, to track down and prosecute examination syndicates.

Samuel Afolayan, an educator, described the council’s progress as impressive, attributing the success to a potent combination of randomised objective questions, biometric identification, and the deployment of CCTV cameras in select examination centres. He also highlighted the transparency brought by the new examination malpractice portal, which allows candidates to view the specific reasons their results were withheld and make formal representations.

“The council has been clear about its commitment to decisively address examination malpractice,” Afolayan noted. “Stiffer sanctions are being meted out. Schools found engaging in organised mass cheating risk being de-recognised entirely, while supervisors and officials caught aiding malpractice face severe penalties approved by the Nigeria Examinations Committee,” he said.

To further disrupt localised cheating rings, WAEC is utilising external examination centres rather than allowing schools to administer exams within their own facilities. The council also regularly alters question sets across different geopolitical zones.

Despite these sweeping victories, Dangut acknowledged that certain challenges stubbornly persist. The unauthorised use of cell phones in examination halls remains a nagging issue, alongside isolated but organised mass cheating operations in compromised schools. To counter this, WAEC is currently doubling down on invigilator training and rolling out nationwide sensitisation campaigns to educate parents, schools, and candidates on the consequences of academic fraud.