Oluwatobi Adu 
LAGOS, Nigeria – Lagos State accounts for more than 22,000 of the 56,000 candidates registered for the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for private candidates, Second Series, according to the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).
WAEC Head of National Office, Suleiman Kum, disclosed this on Saturday during an inspection of the English Language computer-based examination at the council’s Training and Testing Centre on Ijaiye Road, Ogba, Lagos.
The Lagos figure includes approximately 50 walk-in candidates, while nationwide walk-in registrations for individual subject remedies stood at about 272, Kum said.
He urged candidates to prepare thoroughly by practising past examination questions, studying marking schemes and reviewing chief examiners’ reports to understand common mistakes and improve their performance.
Kum also highlighted the role of computer-based testing in reducing examination malpractice, saying the format offered greater security than conventional examinations. “We have discovered that Computer-Based Test, popularly known as CBT, is truly the best way to conduct examinations because malpractice is drastically reduced,” he said.
He explained that candidates were subjected to searches before entering examination halls to prevent them from bringing in unauthorised materials.
According to Kum, WAEC is working towards a full transition to computer-based testing as part of efforts to strengthen examination security and public confidence in its results.
The registration figures underline Lagos’s substantial share of candidates sitting the private-candidate examination. However, WAEC did not provide a breakdown showing how the candidates were distributed across other states in the information available.
The private-candidate examination provides an opportunity for individuals seeking to obtain the WASSCE qualification or improve results in selected subjects outside the regular school examination cycle.
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