The Head of National Office of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Dr. Amos Josiah Dangut, says sweeping reforms and the deployment of technology have significantly reduced examination malpractice, despite resistance from individuals affected by the changes.
Dangut made the remarks while receiving the National Executive of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), led by its General Secretary, Comrade Oladimaji Usman, at the council's headquarters in Abuja.
He said WAEC remains committed to conducting credible examinations and has strengthened its monitoring systems through a cyber surveillance center capable of detecting examination malpractice in real time.
"We now have a cyber monitoring center that detects every area where malpractice is taking place and alerts the council immediately," Dangut said.
"This year's examination recorded a significant reduction in malpractice and there was no leakage of examination papers."
He attributed criticisms of the council's reforms to individuals sanctioned for violating examination regulations, insisting that every disciplinary action followed due process.
"When a new sheriff is in town determined to sanitize the system, those who benefit from the old order will resist," he said. "We ask the media to always demand evidence before publishing allegations against the council."
Dangut said integrity remains the cornerstone of WAEC's operations, stressing that the council will continue to uphold accountability, transparency and professionalism in the conduct of examinations.
The WAEC chief acknowledged that the 2026 school examination faced challenges, including security concerns, logistics and the death of some staff members, which affected operations in three states. However, he assured candidates that the issues would not affect their results.
"We have standard procedures for addressing every challenge. Whatever glitches occurred will not affect candidates' performance because we have mechanisms to detect and correct them," he said.
Dangut also defended the reduction of the examination period from eight weeks to five weeks, explaining that the decision followed the Federal Government's curriculum reforms, which reduced examinable subjects from 76 to 36.
According to him, the shorter examination period will enable WAEC to process and release results faster.
As part of ongoing education reforms, Dangut announced that the private candidate examination, popularly known as GCE, will no longer hold in September.
Instead, it will be conducted between September and October, allowing results to be released before the end of the year.
He added that advances in technology would eventually enable candidates to receive examination results much faster.
"With technology, a candidate can finish an examination and receive the result the same day," he said.
Dangut appealed to state governments and other stakeholders owing examination fees to settle their outstanding obligations within 10 days to avoid delays in processing candidates' results.
He said WAEC plans to release the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results on Aug. 3 but warned that candidates sponsored by indebted stakeholders could experience delays until payments are made.
"We appeal to all indebted stakeholders to settle their obligations within the next 10 days so that no candidate will be disadvantaged," he said.
Dangut also commended NANS for supporting educational reforms and called on students, the media and other stakeholders to continue partnering with WAEC in protecting the integrity of public examinations across the country.
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