In the media

A Supreme Court mandate has prompted an expansive audit of private, non-government, and deemed universities in India. The directive follows a student's conflict over a name amendment, revealing larger concerns about administrative transparency and governance within these institutions, and in particular the prevalence of slow or ineffective grievance response systems within Indian higher education. Other areas where opaque practices are often reported, such as admission, recruitment and use of funds, are also now under direct examination.

Nigeria’s Senate has approved the “Sexual Harassment of Students” Bill that could impose imprisonment of up to 14 years for academic staff in higher education who sexually harass students. In a context where sex-for-grades scandals have long caused concern, this law protects students while holding academic institutions accountable. It also requires institutions to establish an Independent Sexual Harassment Prohibition Committee with investigative powers to bolster accountability.

Algeria plans a national AI-powered plagiarism detection system for universities and research institutions, integrating SNDL and university library portals. Between 2018–2025, 50 Algerian papers were retracted (6.3 per year), while globally, around 0.08% of publications are withdrawn annually. By January 2026, the system will access major databases, detect complex plagiarism, and could serve as a model for Africa, promoting academic integrity and research transparency.

Abdul Kalam Technical University (AKTU) will award around 50,000 engineering and management degrees using blockchain technology. The system enhances security, prevents fraud, and streamlines degree issuance, supporting institutional credibility and student trust, and allows secure access to print, and validate degrees.

The Ondo State Government praised the Federal Government’s launch of the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD), calling it a landmark reform against certificate racketeering and academic fraud. NERD digitizes Nigeria’s academic output and standardized credential verification. It also introduces the National Publication Index to enhance academic integrity, and indigenous knowledge governance.

University of Zimbabwe lecturers raised alarms over widespread academic irregularities, including unqualified teaching, inadequate contact hours, unsupervised research projects, and manipulated exam results. Despite ongoing strikes over salary disputes, the university proceeded with graduation, prompting concerns over academic integrity, student outcomes, and institutional governance.

Eight publicly funded Hong Kong universities have signed three-year accountability agreements with the government, increasing oversight of budgets and university operations. Experts warn that, while the agreements aim to improve transparency and performance indicators, they may also reduce university autonomy by pressuring institutions to align with government priorities.

Researchers from Northwestern University and the University of Sydney reveal a global, organized network of academic fraud involving paper mills and collusive peer review. The investigation shows bulk-produced papers, paid authorships, citation trading, and editorial misconduct. The study highlights systemic issues in scientific publishing and calls for stronger review processes and fraud detection technologies incentives.

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.

Ghanaian universities face new research paper retractions in top international journals, following nearly 1,000 removals last year. The articles, initially peer-reviewed and indexed by leading global institutions, are now marked as compromised, highlighting fake credentials, ethical lapses, and peer review issues, intensifying “publish or perish” pressures and calls for stronger higher education oversight.