John Kapi
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has blamed poor reading habits, grammatical weaknesses and the increasing use of informal social media language for the decline in candidates’ performance in English Language in the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
Although overall performance in the 2026 examination improved compared with the previous year, English Language was the notable exception, with the proportion of candidates attaining grades A1 to C6 falling to 62.40 percent.
Head of Public Affairs at WAEC, John Kapi, said the decline was a source of concern, particularly as the subject continued to expose weaknesses in candidates’ command of written English.
“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 Accra-based Citi FM.
The latest performance represents a further drop in the pass rate for the subject. The proportion of candidates securing A1 to C6 declined from 73.11 percent in 2023 to 69.52 percent in 2024, 69 percent in 2025 and 62.40 percent in 2026.
According to Mr. Kapi, findings contained in the Chief Examiner’s report pointed to recurring problems with concord, spelling, grammar, comprehension and summary writing.
He said the situation was also linked to declining reading habits among students, with some candidates finding it difficult to respond appropriately to questions based on prescribed literary works.
Another concern, he said, was the growing influence of informal communication on social media, particularly the abbreviated forms and expressions commonly used in platforms such as WhatsApp.
“They might only use the contracted forms as if they were the standard, and that is one area that is worrying,” Mr. Kapi said.
He stressed the need for students to distinguish between informal online communication and the standard forms of English expected in academic and formal settings.
The WAEC official said stronger reading habits could help students improve their vocabulary, comprehension and ability to express themselves clearly in written examinations.
While English Language performance declined, WAEC recorded an improvement in Core Mathematics compared with 2025.
Mr. Kapi said candidates demonstrated strengths in areas including arithmetic progression, coordinate geometry and business mathematics.
However, he said weaknesses remained in translating word problems into mathematical statements and in some other areas of the subject.
In the 2026 examination, 60.75 percent of candidates obtained grades A1 to C6 in Core Mathematics, compared with 62.40 percent in English Language.
A Daily Guide Report