In the media

The South African government has identified 8,854 high-risk cases in its effort to eliminate ghost work in the public sector. In its process to verify all its employees, the highlighted cases were identified to show payment irregularities that need to be clarified in an outstanding audit. As part of the efforts to address this issue, the Education Labour Relations Council is undertaking physical verification of teachers and learners in order to identify possible ghost teachers and ensure spending efficiency.

Transparency International has published a report outlining the reality of sexual corruption in Rwanda’s education system. It outlines how sexual demands are used, especially in higher education, in return for favours such as grade allocation, class access and exam participation. As women only account for 34% of the student population in higher education and 25% of academic staff, the system remains vulnerable to gender-based violence.

The Nigerian National Universities Commission (NUC) has banned the awarding of honorary degrees to serving public officials. This decision was taken after an investigation found that honorary degrees are being used as a way to fraudulently gain the title ‘Dr’. The head of NUC warned that misuse of honorary titles undermines the integrity of universities and diminishes public trust in genuine academic qualifications. The report identified 32 Nigerian institutions operating as honorary degree mills.

The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau has identified 55 offices in Kerala, India, that are suspected of corruption. Officials are suspected of having collected bribes from teacher candidates to then redistribute them among official staff. The case includes the artificial increase of student numbers to maintain teacher positions, and the appointment of staff without following disability reservation norms.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) of Indonesia is set to embed anti-corruption education into the national curriculum. The idea is to break the current vicious cycle of corruption, where young people in their 20s and 30s are already committing acts of corruption. The idea is to foster a culture of integrity and ethical behaviour among future generations, and to reduce corruption through anti-corruption education from an early age.

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.

Ghost teachers and fund leakage continue to plague schools in Nigeria’s Gombe district. Despite biometric verification of all civil servants (including teachers) since 2019, the system was never fully automated and significant gaps remain in the process. As a result, some absent teachers continue to receive a paycheck while those who are present may wait months to be paid. Education experts suggested increased transparency and citizen oversight could help tackle this issue.

A recent verification exercise has revealed that the government of Kenya has been disbursing Ksh.1.1 billion to ghost students in public schools over the years. The number could even be higher, considering that the verification process is not complete, with 934 schools yet to present their data to the ministry. The verification process has already led to the closure of 10 secondary schools that the Ministry of Education says had no students.

The Federal Government has unveiled a landmark initiative aimed at entrenching transparency, accountability, and efficiency in Nigeria’s tertiary education system with the official launch of the Federal Government Tertiary Institution Governance and Transparency Platform (FTIGTP). The initiative will serve as a unified digital platform providing real-time access to accurate data and financial information across all tertiary institutions in Nigeria. The platform aims not only to strengthen public confidence but also improve efficiency in the management of educational resources and foster innovation.

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.