By Amos Harris
Confusion and frustration have gripped thousands of Liberian 12th-grade students following the failure of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC-Liberia) to release the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results within its previously announced timeline.
The controversy intensified on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, after WAEC-Liberia appeared to announce that the results would be released during a briefing at the Ministry of Information. The notice, originally posted on August 15, was subsequently deleted without public explanation, leaving students, parents, and school administrators uncertain about when the outcomes will be made available.
The development has raised sharp questions regarding WAEC-Liberia’s communication and operational planning. During an August 5 press briefing at the Ministry of Information, WAEC-Liberia National Head, Dale Gbegbele Gbotoe, assured the public that the 2026 WASSCE results would be published on or before August 14, 2026.
That deadline passed without the release of the scores, fueling anxiety among candidates whose prospective university admissions and immediate educational plans depend on these grades. Instead of an updated release schedule, stakeholders were met with conflicting statements and the sudden removal of the institution’s public announcement.
Adding to the confusion, Gbotoe had previously warned the public to disregard unofficial figures circulating on social media, dismissing them as inaccurate. However, the examination body’s ongoing failure to provide a definitive publication date has created an information vacuum.
The 2026 WASSCE was administered from April 27 through June 19, involving candidates from 1,126 senior secondary schools, including two institutions in neighboring Guinea. Despite the government reportedly settling examination fees for 7,391 candidates by August 18, transparency regarding the processing of these results remains lacking.
Criticism mounted further on Tuesday when Gbotoe failed to appear for the scheduled Ministry of Information briefing at Charles Gbenyon Hall. His absence, paired with the deleted announcement, has led many to question whether the council was adequately prepared to fulfill its commitment.
WAEC-Liberia has faced administrative scrutiny in previous years, notably when it withheld the results of over 39,000 candidates due to alleged examination fraud and irregularities, subject to review by the Liberia Examination Committee. Prior to the administration of the 2026 exams, Gbotoe had issued stern warnings to schools against charging unauthorized fees or hosting illegal “camping” sessions, threatening total result cancellations for non-compliance.
Now, as the institution faces backlash over its own administrative lapses, students and parents are demanding equal accountability, clarity, and the immediate release of the official results.
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