A large number of parents have expressed their dissatisfaction over the way teachers are demanding money for the release of end-of-year results to their children. Parents are now calling on the minister of education to do something towards the extra charges in primary and secondary schools in order to up hold the free education scheme for all.

According to an opposition leader, the businessman Agarwal's pledge last week of $1-billion to set up Vedanta University, in the South Indian state of Orissa, is a gimmick to divert attention from his corrupt mining deal with the state's government. The $1-billion pledge, which if realized would be the largest gift ever made to a higher-education institution, is intended to create a multidisciplinary elite university for 100,000 students that would open in 2008.

A report examining governments contracting for the delivery of education services finds a wide range of models have been implemented around the world. The report, 'Contracting for the delivery of education services: A typology and international examples', published by the Education Forum, states that educational services contracting can have many benefits such as raising the efficiency of service delivery and spending.

Sierra Leonean civil society activists are working to improve accountability. The National Accountability Group (NAG) – the local chapter of Transparency International – used a Public Expenditure Tracking Survey (PETS) to find out what had happened to school fee subsidies and learning materials designated for a sample of 28 schools in a rural district. NAG's survey came after an earlier Ministry of Finance PETS revealed startling figures about education corruption. In 2002 researchers found that 45.1 percent of the funds for school fees subsidies were unaccounted for and that nearly 28 percent of teaching and learning materials had disappeared.

The idea of creating an Anti-corruption academy comes from a civil association named GERB. The academy would apply international experience and attract foreign experts to deliver lectures. Tightening the fight against corruption practices, particularly on high echelons, has been among the key critiques of the European Commission to Bulgaria.

According to the education minister, primary school head teachers will be required to sign performance agreements every year. Many pupils had not attained the desirable learning competency in literacy and numeracy partly because of the slackness, absenteeism and lack of commitment from the head teachers. The assessment guidelines and the tracking of the teachers' performance will help to create a more fair and verifiable system.