‘190 Sat, 27 Passed’; Babcock Seeks Redress As WAEC CBT Produced Poorest Results In School’s 31-Year History

▪️ ‘Destinies Are At Stake’; Private Schools Protest, describe 2026 CBT WASSCE Result worst in decades

Private school owners in Nigeria have cried foul over the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination results, describing them as the worst in decades and demanding urgent redress from the West African Examinations Council.

NOP NIGERIA reports that the protest was led by Babcock School, Remo, where Principal Fatola Samson revealed that out of 190 students who sat for the exam, only 27 obtained satisfactory results. He called it the poorest performance in the school’s 31-year history.

“We are dealing with the destinies of people,” Fatola said during a virtual dialogue on Thursday organised by the Education Writers’ Association of Nigeria with WAEC’s Head of National Office, Dr. Amos Dangut. “There are people whose admission hopes have been dashed this year.”

According to Fatola, the failures were concentrated in core science subjects. Masses of students who had consistently performed well in class failed Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry under the new Computer-Based Test CBT format.

Babcock was not alone. Another proprietor at the meeting, representing an institution operating for 17 years, said the school also recorded its worst WASSCE results ever in 2026, fueling concerns that the problem was not isolated.

The school owners told the forum that several high-performing candidates recorded unexpectedly poor grades, raising doubts about the reliability of the CBT process. Many said earlier petitions sent to the WAEC National Office had gone unanswered.

Additional concerns were raised over the yet-to-be-released results of blind candidates and gaps in the verification process. Participants argued that the transition to CBT was rushed and had left students disadvantaged.

Responding, Dr. Dangut said WAEC was willing to review results where candidates or schools formally appealed through the established procedure. “We will hasten the process for a review,” he assured, urging schools and candidates to be patient.

The WAEC boss also disclosed that candidates seeking a review would pay about N6,000 per script. That announcement triggered fresh questions on whether refunds would be given if WAEC’s error was confirmed, and how delays would affect university admissions.

Dangut defended the council, saying complaints about results were not peculiar to WAEC or Nigeria. “Examination bodies around the world routinely receive appeals,” he said. He insisted the council could not arbitrarily upgrade grades without evidence.

To justify the release, Dangut said the results had undergone additional scrutiny and were delayed from Monday to Wednesday. He promised that WAEC would soon release statistics comparing 2025 and 2026 performances.

According to preliminary figures shared by Dangut, results were mixed. The proportion of candidates scoring B2 and above in English Language rose from 0.41 per cent in 2025 to 1.75 per cent in 2026. However, those scoring C6 and above dropped from 64.58 per cent to 59.31 per cent.

The HNO dismissed suggestions that WAEC deliberately lowered grades, stressing that the integrity of the certificate mattered because students would eventually have to prove the knowledge reflected in it.

Participants, however, called for an independent, third-party review of the 2026 CBT process. They said only external verification could restore confidence in the system and protect students from technical errors.

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As appeals open, the stakes are clear. For Babcock’s 163 students who did not make the cut, and for thousands nationwide, the next few weeks will determine if a computer glitch or a genuine failure decides their future. “This is not just about grades,” Fatola said. “It is about lives.”

NOP NIGERIA