In the media

The Malaysian government announced the allocation of seats at public universities last week, and it sparked uproar among ethnic Chinese and Indians. Only 19% of places were awarded to Chinese and 4% to Indian students – and even some with the highest exam scores failed to gain a place on their preferred course. The ethnic breakdown of the Malaysian population is 23% Chinese and 7% Indian, while 60% are Malay according to the most recent census. The results prompted the treasurer general of the Malaysian Indian Congress,– to say it was "the most unfair and biased public university intake in the history of Malaysia".

A mixture of endemic poverty and corruption in the education system and government abuses have not allowed children in rural areas access to basic education. Investment in basic education is crucial for future development, as 40% of the Honduran population is under 14.

The Minister of National Education and Vocational Training, accompanied by Directors-General and Deputy Minister, as well as the Head of the Directorate of Support for Private Education and of Partnership (DAEPP), said he was determined to fight corruption in the Free and Compulsory Universal Schooling Programme, (PSUGO).

Private supplementary tutoring in pre-university education is defined as tutoring in academic subjects provided by tutors for financial gain in addition to the provision of mainstream schooling. A researcher from Lehigh University raises concerns about private tutoring and provides examples of situations where it is not used to complement mainstream schooling but instead replaces it.

The President has denied the claim of schools to charge monetary lunch fee for pupils under the Universal Primary Education (UPE), arguing that this program was conceived for poor families that could not afford additional fees. Besides, he declared that the pay of un-necessary amounts of money will create additional barriers to the free UPE as the ones that already exist; expensive uniforms, books, tours and others items.

Because obtaining any education is seen as the main goal by most Chinese, the new private universities which have appeared in almost every major province are seen like an opportunity to lower Chinese University Examinations scores to have access to superior education.

A scandal involving 49 students who sought places in an Egypt's prestigious university has been revealed. Instead of enrolling in the promised university, the students ended up in Malaysia where 15 were discovered doing odd jobs to support themselves. Moreover in what may be a bureaucratic cross-proposes the Indonesia's Ministry of national education is not in charge of verifying the student's process because is the Ministry of religious affaires the one responsible for students who apply to Islamic Universities abroad.

Despite a recent report from the government indicated that bribes paid in state universities total as much as 20 million lari ($10.9 million) per year, the plans to introduce national tests for university admission to make a more "fair" system with equal access and less corruption might be put on the shelves due to budget problems. According to Tbilisi State University only 20 % of the university's students managed to pass the school's entrance exams without paying bribes.

Fees for manipulating entrance test scores are between $80 to $20 000 for the most popular programs, such as computer science, medicine or engineering. Many feel the only way to clean up the system is to expand educational opportunities.

The Russian Federation will begin testing a system of state examinations this year, similar in format to the SAT in the United States and aimed at reducing corruption and creating equitable access to higher education. A single test is planned to be instituted nationwide in 2004.