Search Page

Cheating is up more than 20 per cent at the country's biggest university. It have been identified 201 cases last year, compared to 166 in 2007, although the student roll remained steady at 38,550. Using cell phones, sneaking unauthorized notes and material, with unpermitted calculators, dictionaries and electronic devices and writing answers before exams started are some of the new and old methods for cheating.

In 2007, Transparency International gave Vietnam a dismal 2.6 rating score on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being least corrupt. Corruption is epidemic in Vietnam: bribes for school entrance, exams, and assessment occurs every day. Corruptive practices are the norm rather than the exception. In the informal survey of classes, more than 95 percent of the students reported they had cheated at least once in a class, and all had observed situations of cheating by other students.

A student at a university in Osh is elected by his classmates to pay the bribes necessary for his classmates to get the grades they want. Typically, a student who chooses to buy an education pays about $40 to $50 per semester. Many professors are willing to accept bribes simply to meet basic needs. Salaries for teachers rarely exceed $100 a month.