In the media

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.

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.

In Pakistan, the Baloch Students Action Committee (BSAC) has accused the Balochistan Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BBISE) of corrupt practices and exam result manipulation. The BBISE has allegedly been involved in bribery and political favoritism, leading to unfair exam outcomes and forged certificates. This case underscores how corruption within educational institutions can normalize unethical conduct. A BSAC representative has called for an immediate inquiry into the board and urgent reforms to hold those responsible accountable.

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.

Between 2023 and 2024, approximately 10,000 international students submitted 'potentially fraudulent' letters of acceptance (LOAs) to visa agencies, representing 2% of all applications submitted in Ottawa. Additionally, 14,000 international students filed asylum claims to get ahead of Canadian refugee regulations. LOAs, which are not secure documents, have been easy to replicate and are often produced by “ghost consultants”. Government officials emphasize the need to distinguish students who genuinely require asylum from the « bad actors ».

A Control Yuan investigation revealed that National Taiwan University (NTU) failed to protect students from sexual harassment adequately and mishandled related complaints. The investigation found multiple harassment incidents involving an associate professor and a dormitory supervisor. Despite being aware of a sexual harassment allegation against the supervisor, NTU did not take timely or effective action to separate the supervisor from the affected student, leading to further issues.

More than three million students in India have been affected by a failure of the National Examination System in the entrance exams for top courses such as medicine and PhDs. Many students are furious and blame the institutions for the scandal. The police is investigating the leak of examination papers.

The University of Regina (U of R) has observed a surge in cheating cases, particularly in its Nursing Program, during final exams. Around 50 out of 1,200 nursing students are under investigation for academic integrity concerns. Factors contributing to this increase include students' unfamiliarity with exam regulations due to pandemic-related disruptions and improper use of Artificial Intelligence tools. Penalties for academic misconduct range from warnings to expulsion.

The Ministry of Education and the Unité de Lutte Contre la Corruption (Anti-Corruption Unit) have launched "integrity clubs" at the Haitian-Canadian secondary school, also involving the Lycée National in Pétion-Ville. Each club, made up of eight members, aims to involve pupils in the fight against corruption through self-learning and civic education from an early age. School headmasters and representatives welcomed the initiative, stressing the importance of training young people to become citizens of integrity to build a new Haiti.

The University of South Africa (UNISA) underwent a quality audit by the Council on Higher Education (CHE), which raised concerns about ambiguous roles between the Senate and Council, potentially infringing on academic authority. The audit highlighted governance issues, late registrations impacting student success, and communication gaps with students. UNISA has submitted an improvement plan to address these concerns and awaits feedback from the CHE.