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British universities and private pathway providers for international students face accusations of admitting overseas students with lower entry requirements compared to domestic counterparts. This has prompted concerns about fairness and transparency in admissions practices with foreign students sometimes paying up to £38,000 (US$48,000) in tuition fees as opposed to no more than £9,250 (US$11,700) for UK students. The controversy highlights issues around pathways such as International Year One programs and the role of agents in recruitment, sparking calls for more ethical approaches and greater scrutiny in international student recruitment.

The Indonesian Anti-Corruption Commission (KPK) has arrested the Rector of the University of Lampung for allegedly receiving IDR5 billion (US$336,000) in bribes from the families of students who failed the university entrance exams known as the autonomous admissions scheme. According to KPK, the ‘autonomous channel’ exam conducted by universities is vulnerable to bribery due to a lack of transparency and specific guidelines from the Ministry of Education, leaving state universities unsupervised.

In an effort to enhance fairness and transparency in college admissions, the government announced an increase of the traditional admissions track based on the nationwide college entrance exam, while reducing the rate of the non-standardized admissions track – based on other factors such as school grades and extracurricular activities.

Despite the many requests from different organizations, universities keep secret their criteria for sorting each training course. The Human Rights Defender believes that the request of many trade unions for more transparency in the Parcoursup procedure will not undermine the "principles of the jury's sovereignty and the secrecy of its deliberations". He also recommends that the Minister of Higher Education make sure that candidates have all the information they need regarding the way their application is being processed.

Experts from many African and European countries have blamed lack of transparency and unethical practices as some of the reasons preventing Nigerian universities from making the list of best global institutions. Transparency in admissions, teachings and university administration were some of the criteria used for judging the best universities worldwide. They further said that Nigerian universities must train students on character and integrity for them to compete globally.

Universities will be forced to come clean to prospective students about the real ATAR cut-offs for their courses, following recommendations from the nation's top higher education panel. The review was commissioned after revelations that up to 60 per cent of students at some universities were being admitted below the advertised minimum ATAR requirements.