In the media

Libya’s Ministry of Education employs 600,000 people, but only 180,000 are active teachers, highlighting inefficiencies in the system. The acting Education Minister plans to introduce a “class allowance” to reward teachers who actually teach. Investigations also revealed widespread corruption in the printing and distribution of schoolbooks, with costs nearly halved by producing them locally.

A ministerial committee has been appointed to investigate alleged regulatory violations in the awarding of state-funded national and international scholarships to Libyan students. The Administrative Control Authority has suspended the allocation of full state scholarships until all financial obligations to the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research are settled. Meanwhile, the Higher Committee for Academic Scholarships will review past decisions to assess their compliance with legislation and monitor scholarship recipients.

The outgoing Prime Minister and Education Minister of Libya have been accused of corruption in the allocation of overseas study scholarships. Allegedly, scholarship decisions involved 6,000 undeserving students, many of whom were children of government officials and influential figures. Some names were reportedly added to lists of war-wounded and missing persons, highlighting the severity of the case. While the Education Minister has denied the accusations, the scandal has sparked public outrage over the misuse of national resources.

To combat certificate forgery in Higher Education, Libya joined the Unified Arab System for Blockchain-based Certificate Authentication. This initiative, spearheaded by the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO), provides a reliable method for verifying academic qualifications. Experts advocate for similar systems across Africa to strengthen hiring practices and ensure credential credibility. They suggest leveraging blockchain technology and collaborating with international organizations for widespread implementation.

The Libyan Attorney General's office has ordered the arrest of officials from the Ministry of Higher Education’s scholarships office in Türkiye, accused of misappropriating scholarships worth about €14 million (US$15 million) for Libyan students. The investigation revealed irregularities impacting 757 students studying in Türkiye due to violations such as delays in studies, exceeding degree time limits, and awarding grants to officials' children who already received education benefits. The Prime Minister suspended scholarships abroad and removed the Minister's authority over scholarship approvals.

The Libyan authorities announced on Thursday that they were opening investigations following an outcry over revelations of generous scholarships to study in Turkey for relatives of senior government officials. The beneficiaries of the scholarships had surprising profiles: a 74-year-old woman receiving a grant of more than 2,700 dollars a month to study computer science in Turkey and two brothers aged 57 and 70 accompanied by 10 and 15 members of their families at public expense. The lists include "1,895 scholarship holders" to whom a total of more than 14 million euros is paid each quarter.