In the media

A new study highlights the expansion of a commercial ecosystem offering “academic misconduct appeal assistance” through social media platforms. Researchers found that these services target students at moments of maximum anxiety. The model has evolved from informal help to a platform-driven business that operates similarly to contract cheating services. Academic integrity is slowly turning into a purchasable good. The authors warn that the phenomenon reflects a growing misalignment between institutional communication strategies and student behaviour.

Machine learning analysis found that around 10% of cancer research papers over the past 25 years, including top journals, were linked to retracted paper mill publications, rising to 15% recently. Flagged papers appeared in multiple countries e.g. China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, or Egypt, highlighting a global challenge to medical research reliability and integrity.

The KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Finance Minister has started a province-wide check to remove ghost workers from the Education Department. Nonexistent or former employees, including teachers who resigned, were dismissed, or died, are still receiving pay. This problem may be costing the department about 1 billion rand (approx. 57.31 million USD) every year, calling for urgent action.

A new survey by Transparency International (TI) Initiative in Madagascar reveals widespread corruption in education. 40% of nearly 5,000 respondents reported being victims of corruption in schools, while 81% said they knew of such cases, including diploma buying, exam leaks, and sexual favors for grades. TI warns these practices undermine equal access to education and trust in the system.

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.

A global Research Integrity Risk Index placed over a dozen top Indonesian universities in high-risk zones due to systemic integrity issues. The Ministry of Higher Education urged institutions to prioritize research quality and ethics over publication quantity. Critics cite unrealistic academic demands, weak oversight, and flawed incentives as contributors to unethical practices. The report has sparked calls for reform and greater emphasis on academic integrity in Indonesia’s higher education system.

A study surveying 2,864 people across seven regions of Madagascar – including students, parents, and educators – reveals widespread corruption in the technical and vocational education. The findings expose exam fraud, grade buying, biased teacher selection, embezzlement, and sale of test papers. Interviews and qualitative analysis deepened the understanding of these systemic issues in admissions and resource management.

Global research retractions surpassed 10,000 in 2023, with Ethiopia showing an alarming 12% + rate. This challenges research integrity and public trust. Issues include misconduct, weak oversight, and publication pressure. Strengthening ethical standards, implementing transparent review processes, establishing national monitoring bodies, and prioritizing research quality over quantity are crucial for a credible scientific environment.

Over 14,000 academic papers were retracted from English language journals in 2023, with three-quarters of which involved a Chinese co-author. As a result, the Chinese Ministry of Education is currently auditing the retracted research to determine how far academic fraud is widespread. The main issue stems from the fact that it is easy to pay for research to be written by ghostwriters and published in low-quality journals in China. Analysts argue that the political nature of research in China contributes to issues of academic integrity, as it prioritizes the quantity of published papers over their quality.