The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has sanctioned hundreds of candidates and withheld the results of thousands more following investigations into examination malpractice in the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
The Council announced on Wednesday that while the provisional results of the examination have been released to schools across the country, disciplinary action has been taken against candidates found to have engaged in various examination irregularities.
In all, the subject results of 496 candidates have been cancelled, while the entire results of 105 candidates have also been cancelled.
WAEC further disclosed that the subject results of 119 candidates have been withheld, while the entire results of 48 candidates remain withheld pending the completion of ongoing investigations.
The largest category of affected candidates involves 2,722 candidates from 229 schools, whose subject results have been withheld for additional scrutiny over suspected examination irregularities.
According to WAEC, investigations into these cases are expected to be completed by August 31, 2026, after which the affected results will either be released or cancelled depending on the outcome of the inquiries.
The Council urged affected candidates to access details of their cases through its irregularities portal.
A total of 620,243 candidates, comprising 304,415 males and 315,828 females, sat for this year’s BECE. The candidates were drawn from 20,789 schools and wrote the examination at 2,237 centres nationwide.
WAEC said 3,601 registered candidates were absent from the examination.
The Council also noted that the examination accommodated candidates with special educational needs, including 136 visually impaired candidates, 282 hearing-impaired candidates, and 510 other candidates who required additional support.
The provisional results have been dispatched to schools through Metropolitan, Municipal and District Directors of Education, while candidates may also check their results online through WAEC’s official results portal.
WAEC cautioned candidates and the general public against fraudsters who claim they can alter or upgrade examination results for a fee.
The Council stressed that its examination results are secure, tamper-proof, and fully verifiable, and warned the public not to engage with individuals making such claims.
It also expressed appreciation to the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service, security agencies, school authorities, supervisors, invigilators, examiners, and other stakeholders for their support in the successful conduct of the 2026 BECE and the timely release of the results.
