The Libyan Attorney General's office has ordered the arrest of officials from the Ministry of Higher Education’s scholarships office in Türkiye, accused of misappropriating scholarships worth about €14 million (US$15 million) for Libyan students. The investigation revealed irregularities impacting 757 students studying in Türkiye due to violations such as delays in studies, exceeding degree time limits, and awarding grants to officials' children who already received education benefits. The Prime Minister suspended scholarships abroad and removed the Minister's authority over scholarship approvals.

The Libyan authorities announced on Thursday that they were opening investigations following an outcry over revelations of generous scholarships to study in Turkey for relatives of senior government officials. The beneficiaries of the scholarships had surprising profiles: a 74-year-old woman receiving a grant of more than 2,700 dollars a month to study computer science in Turkey and two brothers aged 57 and 70 accompanied by 10 and 15 members of their families at public expense. The lists include "1,895 scholarship holders" to whom a total of more than 14 million euros is paid each quarter.

An audit report reveals the State Educational Loan Fund has been plagued by violations and corruption since 1997 when it began granting loans to students pursuing Higher education abroad. The main finding of the investigation is that 90 percent of the loans were granted to high-level officials, their children, and those who had access to confidential information. There was no transparency or fair competition in the allocation of loans.

The new book “Corrupted: A study of chronic dysfunction in South African universities” is an account of chronic corruption rooted in a political economy framework combined with a lack of governance and management capacity and academic integrity. These universities are all located in resource-poor areas where the university is the main source of funding and an opportunity for corruption, ranging from contracts (such as building projects) to services (such as transport), to student accommodation and the sale of fake certificates.

Education stakeholders criticise the Federal Government (FG) decision to spend N999 million on public primary school students under the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme. Investigations revealed that some students denied the existence of the programme while food vendors claimed that the programme had become a means for public office holders to embezzle public funds, as they did not receive what the government had promised them.

Instead of following the national regulations for granting honorary academic titles, the State University of Jakarta decided to pass its own rules. While politicians want academic titles to boost their public image and reputation, they are concerned about their careers rather than the university itself. “Usually, after the title-granting ceremony, funds or projects come in from the grantee’s office,” said a senior lecturer.

Spokesmen for Ghana National School Feeding Associations called on the President and the Ministry of Education to investigate corrupt officials who exploit the system for their personal gains. During the 2019/2020 Academic year, the Ghana National School Feeding Programme paid GH¢12.9 million to individuals benefitting 511 ghost schools across the country that were not included in the school feeding programme.

A recent report highlights risks of investment of funds into the UK education sector by African elites, including “politically exposed persons”, some of whom have been convicted of corruption or whose assets have been seized by the UK. According to the report, the gap between what west African PEPs pay for a UK education and what they can legitimately afford is a significant red flag. Relatively lax anti-money laundering rules in the British education sector mean that school administrators and admissions staff are potentially complicit in illegal flows of money.