A total of 509,862 candidates are sitting for the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), starting with Oral English today, May 13, 2026.
According to statistics from the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), the figure comprises 225,274 males and 284,588 females.
However, some practical sessions and project work in subjects such as Visual Arts and Home Economics had already commenced.
The 2026 WASSCE marks the full return of member states to the traditional May–June academic calendar that was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
It will be recalled that in 2020, the examination was rescheduled to July–September, while the 2021 edition was held from August to October.
Reports suggest the Ashanti Region recorded the highest number of candidates, with 127,702 students, followed by the Eastern Region, with 70,099.
The Bono, Bono East and Ahafo regions collectively accounted for 67,739 candidates.
In the Central Region, 61,303 candidates were recorded, while the Greater Accra Region had 48,099 candidates.
The Volta Region, 41,622 candidates, with Oti Region and Western North together, accounted for 35,620 candidates sitting for the exams.
The Northern, North East and Savannah regions recorded 33,155 candidates, with the Upper East Region having 15,192 candidates.
In related news, it will be recalled that the 2025 WASSCE result released by WAEC revealed 220,008 out of 461,736 students failed Core Mathematics, marking the worst performance in the subject in seven years.
Also, “only 48.73% of candidates attained grades A1 to C6 in 2025. This represents a massive collapse from the 66.86% achieved in 2024. A total of 209,068 candidates passed with A1-C6, but 114,872 candidates (26.77%) failed the subject outright with an F9 grade.
Additionally, 131,097 students (30.27%) failed English Language, 161,606 students (39.87%) failed Integrated Science, and 196727 students (44%) failed Social Studies.
A total of 1,021 schools registered candidates for the examination, representing a slight 0.24% increase over 2024, while 5,821 candidates (1.26%) were absent.
John Kapi, the head of Public Relations at the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), has said the use of pidgin, social media language, weakened students’ WASSCE scripts in the 2025 exams.
According to John Kapi, the Chief Examiner’s report revealed that students used informal language, slang, and WhatsApp-style expressions in the 2025 English paper.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s Breakfast Daily on Friday, December 5, he explained, “If you look at the English report that came out, for example, the Chief Examiner indicated that there was a lot of pidgin in what the candidates wrote. They also referred to what they called ‘social media language’ or jargon things we normally use on WhatsApp, which are not formal.
“Especially in the English paper, some candidates could not use standard language, they could not spell properly, and they could not use the appropriate language to write their essays.”
“We need to look at it from home, from where the children grow up, and also examine whether the school system has enough support structures to help students learn. As a society, there is a lot we must address to put our children in a position to learn well,” he said.