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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.

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.

The US Attorney’s Office arrested a nurse practitioner on federal charges of wire fraud, financial aid fraud and aggravated identity theft. She used doctors’ pedigree information and forged signatures to certify disability diagnoses that got more than $10.5 million in loans discharged for at least 125 people. She defrauded the federal Department of Education's Total and Permanent Disability discharge program, which relieves the student loans of those who suffer from permanent physical or mental disabilities.

Chung Chou University of Science and Technology (CCUT) has been forcing students from Uganda to work in factories for long hours to pay off debts they incurred since they did not receive the promised scholarships. The university had been under observation for quality issues since 2015 so this new element persuaded the advisory commission on private schools to ask the Ministry of Education for tougher sanctions against CCUT which is no longer allowed to recruit any new students, whether foreign or domestic.

The FBI has alleged that meal providers sponsored by Minneapolis-based Feeding Our Future were paid tens of millions of taxpayer dollars for food they never provided to needy children, using most of that money to purchase real estate, luxury vehicles and other goods. Among those convicted were a highly regarded school headmaster who also ran several daycare centres in Georgia, several ministers who ran their own nonprofit organizations distributing meals, and a former congressional candidate.

San Diego Ashford University, and its parent company, Zovio, have been fined US$22.37 million for fraudulent admissions tactics that left some students in serious debt and without degrees. According to San Diego Superior Court judge, the college has made bogus claims about career outcomes, costs and financial aid to lure vulnerable students to enrol in the online university programmes.

Three graduates from Kenya’s Egerton University cannot offer their services professionally as their Bachelor of Science degree hasn’t been accredited since their graduation in 2019. They are demanding KES2.2 million (US$19,000) and presented their case to the National Assembly's Education Committee, demanding that the university would offer them eight remedial courses to enable them to upgrade their degree.

A former Yale School of Medicine finance director and administrator pleaded guilty to wire fraud and false tax returns over a nine year period. She ran an illegal business that involved the bulk purchase and resale of computers and electronic devices for a total of $40 million in losses for the university. Since the incident, the university has worked to identify and correct gaps in its internal financial controls.