WASSCE 2026: Lagos Achieves 61.52% Exam Success, Pays ₦1.4bn for Students’ Exam Fees

Lagos State has recorded a significant improvement in public-school performance in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), with 61.52 percent of state-sponsored candidates in the 2025 sitting obtaining five credits, including English Language and Mathematics.

Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education Jamiu Tolani Alli-Balogun announced the figures at the 2026 Ministerial Press Briefing held at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa, Ikeja. He attributed the gains to strategic education reforms and sustained investments in student support programmes and digital infrastructure.

“Alli-Balogun said the Eko Learners Support Initiative, launched in January 2025, was designed to close learning gaps, boost exam readiness, and give every Lagos learner a fair chance to succeed. He added that the programme’s consistency and alignment with exam requirements had helped raise student confidence, engagement, and outcomes.

The state has also taken steps to remove financial barriers to exams. Lagos committed ₦1.4 billion to cover registration for 45,598 Senior Secondary School III students for the 2026 WASSCE, a move intended to widen access to the national examination for public-school pupils.

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To strengthen teaching and learning, the ministry distributed Essential Mathematics textbooks, Fundamental Formulas of English, Bedrock of English Grammar, and Hope-Edu textbooks across public secondary schools. Smart learning devices were issued in March 2026 to broaden digital access, and a Teachers Digital Hub launched in January 2026 now livestreams lessons to schools across Lagos to standardise delivery and expand reach.

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Alli-Balogun highlighted additional efforts to make classroom learning more interactive and inclusive. Educational film shows and digital animations were showcased across the six education districts during the Festival of Instructional Materials, and the ministry approved 37 non-governmental organisations for programmes in healthcare, innovation, entrepreneurship, leadership, and career development.

On school admissions and transfers, 4,539 candidates applied for places in Model Colleges and upgraded secondary schools; 3,024 were provisionally admitted, representing a 66.62 percent admission rate. The ministry also transferred 11,727 students into Junior Secondary School II and Senior Secondary School I classes to accommodate learner movement.

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Infrastructure development remains a priority. The state constructed or rehabilitated 15 schools in hard-to-reach communities and deployed modular classrooms to ease overcrowding. The Tolu School Complex in Ajegunle, a large facility comprising 36 schools serving more than 20,000 pupils, was completed. Since the reactivation of the Special Committee on Rehabilitation of Public Schools, Lagos has delivered 1,416 classrooms. Eight new 18-classroom blocks were completed in 2025, 18 additional blocks are under construction in 2026, and seven more have been approved for the 2026/2027 session. The state also supplied 223,343 ergonomic furniture units to public schools.

Health initiatives included vaccinating 18,122 girls across the six education districts against human papillomavirus as part of ongoing school health programmes.

Alli-Balogun framed these reforms, investments, and health interventions as part of a broader strategy to expand access, raise standards, and close equity gaps in Lagos public education, a strategy he said is already producing measurable results in public exam performance.