By Babatunde Ayedoju
Parents and teachers have greeted with mixed reactions the results of the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) released recently by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).
Recall that barely two weeks ago, the Head of WAEC’s national office, Amos Dangut, announced the results at a press conference in Lagos, where he stated that 61.54 percent of the candidates obtained credits in five subjects, including mathematics and English.
Dangut pointed out that 1,200,514 candidates met the benchmark for admission to higher institutions, out of the 1,950,726 candidates who sat the examination nationwide.
Reacting, a parent, Pastor Seun Omotosho, described the 61.54 percent pass rate as an average performance, saying that Nigerian students should be aiming for a higher success rate.
Omotosho stressed the need to consider that over 750,000 candidates out of nearly two million applicants did not meet the requirements for university admission, adding that among those who met the initial requirements, some may still fail to meet the required standard after the Post-UTME.
According to him, this is an indication that the education sector is still bedeviled with challenges that need to be addressed urgently.
He said, “When nearly two million students sit for an examination, yet we cannot confidently say that more than one million of them will eventually meet the requirements for admission into higher institutions, it suggests that our educational system still has significant challenges that need to be addressed.
“Therefore, there is a need for greater attention to the quality of teaching, learning, examination standards, and overall educational development in Nigeria.”
Another parent, Mrs Mary Adebayo, commended the students for what she described as an improvement on their performance in recent times.
She also commended the examination body for efforts it has been making to improve on the examination process and ensure that examination malpractice is effectively addressed.
A teacher, Mr Seun Ibitoye, opined that there is still a large room for improvement as students are still not performing up to expectation in external examinations.
While lamenting on the increasing rate of examination malpractice in the country, Ibitoye urged the government and WAEC not to relent in their efforts towards curbing the ugly trend.
Another teacher, Mrs Nafisat Moshood, expressed her excitement at the result, describing it as impressive.
According to her, the result is an indication that students are taking their academics more seriously, even as she urged them to keep aiming higher.