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Most PhD holders in Morocco do not trust universities' processes for recruiting assistant professors due to suspicions of political affiliation, nepotism, and bribery. 80% of PhD holders indicated that the existence of several unethical practices is the main reason behind their lack of trust, including political affiliation (86%), bribery (68.3%), relationship, affinity, and family relations (48.8%). Over 88% of those who obtained their PhDs in the past year said they had not had a chance to go through the oral recruitment interview, with only 3% saying they had two interviews.

A recent study made some alarming findings on the extent of plagiarism and other forms of unethical academic behaviour at Moroccan tertiary education institutions. About half of the respondents admitted to having plagiarised text; however, the study confirms that plagiarism is not always intentional, particularly among scholars whose native language is not English. One way to reduce plagiarism is to provide training on research integrity as well as on business ethics.

Five professors at Hassan I University in Settat, Morocco, are under investigation after conversations on social media were leaked in which they were allegedly discussing the ‘sextortion’ of female students for extra credits. The academic community called for a Business Ethics module in the university staff training programmes that would stop promoting such abuses.