‘WhatsApp grammar, poor reading habit caused decline in 2026 WASSCE English Language performance' — WAEC

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has attributed the decline in English Language performance in the 2026 WASSCE to poor reading habits, grammatical weaknesses and the growing use of informal language on social media, particularly WhatsApp by candidates. Head of Public Affairs at WAEC, John Kapi, said although candidates generally performed better this year than in 2025, English Language recorded a decline. 'The results have been an improvement on the previous year's performance except for English Language, which saw a decline,' he said in an interview with Citi News. The proportion of candidates obtaining A1 to C6 in English fell from 73.11 per cent in 2023 to 69.52 per cent in 2024, 69 per cent in 2025 and 62.40 per cent in 2026. Mr. Kapi said the Chief Examiner's report identified persistent weaknesses in concord, spelling, grammar, comprehension and summary writing. He also expressed concern about declining reading habits, noting that some candidates struggled to answer questions based on prescribed literary texts. WAEC is additionally worried about informal language creeping into examination scripts. 'They might only use the contracted forms as if they were the standard, and that is one area that is worrying,' Kapi said. In Core Mathematics, however, WAEC recorded an improvement compared with 2025. John Kapi said candidates demonstrated strengths in arithmetic progression, coordinate geometry and business mathematics, although weaknesses remained in translating word problems into mathematical statements and other areas. In 2026, 60.75 per cent of candidates obtained A1 to C6 in Core Mathematics, while English recorded 62.40 per cent. -citinewsroom