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Poverty, the rising rate of early dropouts, ghost schools and teachers, low pass rates in the JEST test for primary school teachers are just some of the factors at the heart of the education crisis in Sindh. The biometric mechanism put in place by the Sindh government proved to be counterproductive and has failed to compel ghost teachers to attend school: 6.5 million children are currently out of school.

A report conducted by the Global Corruption Barometer Asia found that nearly 50 per cent of those who paid bribes were asked to, while 32 per cent of those who used personal connections said they would not receive the service otherwise. With the highest bribery rate in the region, (39 per cent) India also has the highest rate of people using personal connections to access public services (46 per cent). 63 per cent of citizens think that if they report corruption, they will suffer retaliation. The daily practice of corruption and bribery remains extremely high, with almost one in five citizens paying a bribe to access key public services, such as health care or education.

There have been several cases of ethical violations in India in recent years. A well-known newspaper reported that a series of articles belonging to prestigious research institutions have been published by Indian scientists. They were flagged on a research discussion platform for including images that had been altered and copied from other sources. However, some improvement in ethics has been noted. The government's Chief Scientific Adviser issued the Draft National University Ethics Policy in July 2019, which addresses issues such as plagiarism, data manipulation, and harassment. In December 2019, the UGC made a two-credit course on ethics mandatory as part of undergraduate courses in India.

Renewal or continuation of engineering courses across India depends on All India Council of Technical Education’s (AICTE) approval of information provided by colleges. As the institutions were forced to submit correct data, AICTE found that over one lakh (one hundred thousand) teachers existed only on paper, were working without the requisite qualification, or were teaching at multiple institutes as full-time faculty.

Media reports indicate that in various parts of the country officers claim they can obtain degrees from recognized universities for students without attending courses or taking exams. In response to this, the Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry has ordered University Grants Commission (UGC) to constitute a high-level committee to enquire into the allegations regarding the sale of fake degrees by certain universities.