WAEC portal finally up after candidates reported platform errors following release of 2026 WASSCE results

The result portal of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) is finally up and running following hours of malfunction. The Council released the results of the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates, but many candidates say they are struggling to access them because of errors on the examination body’s online platforms.

On X, where WAEC directed candidates to generate e-PINs and check their results through its digital platforms, users complained that the process was failing at different stages. Some said they could not generate their result checker PINs, while others shared screenshots showing error messages such as “Result not available for this candidate in the specified year and exam date,” and “Result checker card has been used by another candidate.”

Others complained that unsuccessful attempts were counting against the limited number of times a result checker PIN can be used.

“Please make a video on how to check it because this is what I’m seeing on the website,” one user, @Calmnpeace51330, wrote under WAEC’s announcement.

Another user, @OLUWAFERANMHI22, claimed an unsuccessful attempt had already consumed one of the permitted uses of a checker PIN, while several others said the portal displayed “No record for candidate” when they attempted to generate their PINs.

While Technext can confirm that the portal is now functioning properly, WAEC had not publicly responded to the complaints on its official X account as of the time of publication.

Digital rollout faces early pressure

The complaints came shortly after WAEC introduced candidates to a new process for recovering their serial numbers and checker PINs online. Earlier on Wednesday, the examination body instructed candidates to visit its website, enter their examination number and National Identification Number (NIN), verify their identity with a one-time password and generate an e-PIN for result checking.

The issues emerged as thousands of candidates attempted to access the platform simultaneously following the release announcement, highlighting the pressure digital public-facing platforms often experience during high-demand periods. While it remains unclear whether the errors were caused by traffic, candidate-specific issues or another technical problem, many candidates said the messages prevented them from accessing their results immediately after release.

WAEC withholds over 167,000 results

The complaints surrounding the portal coincided with WAEC’s announcement that it withheld the results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59 per cent of those who sat the examination, over alleged examination malpractice.

Speaking during the results announcement in Lagos, Head of the Council’s Nigeria Office, Dr Amos Dangut, attributed the cases to offences including the use of mobile phones in examination halls and organised cheating involving some schools.

According to the exams body, 1,959,668 candidates registered for the examination, while 1,950,726 eventually sat for it. The council said 1,200,514 candidates, representing 61.54 per cent, obtained credits in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics. It added that 1,834,695 candidates, or 94.05 per cent, had their results fully processed and released, while 116,031 results were still being processed.