In the media

South Africa’s Academy of Science has released a revised 2025 Code of Best Practice in Scholarly Journal Publishing, addressing AI misuse, peer-review ethics, open access, data transparency, and diversity. The code strengthens editorial independence, accountability, and integrity, aiming to curb predatory publishing, plagiarism, and unethical authorship. Stakeholders describe it as a blueprint for credibility and a safeguard for research trust.

This article exposes corrupt practices in South Africa’s education system, particularly the misuse of social grants to gain university admission. Students with strong academic records are often denied entry to top universities, while others secure placements by using their grants to bribe university staff. This issue underscores the urgent need for reform and stricter oversight of grant distribution to ensure fairness and merit-based admissions.

A report on sexual harassment by the Commission for Gender Equality has revealed that some student leaders at Nelson Mandela University in South Africa have demanded sexual favors from first-year students in exchange for on-campus accommodation. Additionally, at North-West University, other students have reported engaging in sex work to survive. This report highlights both corruption among university students and serious cases of sexual harassment.

A Professor from the University of Fort Hare faces accusations of failing to address plagiarism in the theses of nine postgraduate students under his supervision. A confidential report revealed that he knew about the plagiarism but only advised students to 'reduce' it. This has sparked concerns about the University's commitment to academic standards and raised questions about the quality of the supervision. Despite the findings, the professor remains employed, leading to debate.

The council of Stellenbosch University in South Africa has appointed a three-person committee to investigate allegations of nepotism against the vice-chancellor. A motion to remove him from office, in accordance with the university's statutes, has also been confirmed. The committee will investigate the facts underlying the motion, including allegations of nepotism and a possible breach of rules concerning the Vice-Chancellor’s discretionary placement of family members within the University.

Academic dishonesty including dissertation fraud is on rise universities in Africa. Only 24 African countries out of 54 have institutional repositories. This means that dissertations and other sources of information that can be plagiarised only exist in hard copies. According to a professor from Uganda, one way to eliminate contract writing is to establish a rigorous process throughout the dissertation writing and defence process. The president of the Southern African Students Union believes that paying lecturers decent salaries will lead to a decrease in the number of people engaging in ghost-writing for students.

The report by Corruption Watch titled “Sound the Alarm” reveals shocking forms of corruption in the education sector: widespread misappropriation of resources, acts of bribery, sextortion, abuse of authority, as well as employment irregularities. Between 2012 and 2021, from the primary to the tertiary level, over 3 600 complaints from pupils, students, parents, and guardians were registered, representing 10% of the total number of reports received.

El ministro de Educación Superior sudafricano expresó su preocupación por el creciente número de instituciones falsas que conceden doctorados honoríficos, en su mayoría a celebridades, entre ellas una empresaria y personalidad de la telerrealidad y un artista local. El ministro pidió al Consejo de Educación Superior que investigue y asesore sobre las medidas apropiadas en todos los casos denunciados de estos títulos honoríficos falsos.

Four former senior officials from the Eastern Cape Department of Education and a company director have been arrested on corruption charges involving the purchase of textbooks for students. The senior education official bypassed the department's supply chain process by obtaining a Supplementary Resource Material (SRM) agreement that was not required. Reports allege that the official received a bribe in the form of two laptops and a mobile phone from the company that received the R59 million for the SRM material.

According to the director of Higher Education Resource Services South Africa (HERS-SA) paper, 41 (50%) of women had experienced bullying in higher education workplace. Several South African institutions, including the University of Cape Town (UCT), the University of Venda, and UNISA, have been in the news over claims of bullying, amid other controversies. At UCT, the Vice-Chancellor was accused of bullying by 37 UCT academics and staff members. Research also shows that some victims are bullied because they observed and spoke up about corruption, or even worse when they were forced to be part of corrupt processes.