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The Minister of Higher Education commissioned a report into the affairs of Unisa, Africa's biggest open distance learning institution. There have been claims of maladministration, as well as tender irregularities, allegedly involving the University's Vice Chancellor and principal. The report found that Unisa has been plagued by governance issues since 2016. It included the flouting of procurement processes, irregular appointment of staff members, as well as huge salary increases.

Corrupt offences committed in the education sector in Madagascar involve professional abuse, abuse of influence, unlawful gifts, favoritism, and conflicts of interest. Students bribe their teachers to obtain better grades or admission to a higher class. The conference on ‘Strengthening integrity and fighting corruption in higher education’ organized by the Graduate School for Economic and Social Development, and the Independent Anti-Corruption Bureau is a call for students, directors, and teachers to be made aware and educated about the fight against corruption.

14 academic and administrative staff members from the Official University of Bukavu in Congo have been dismissed after an internal audit revealed they possessed forged certificates and academic titles. The former rector has been accused of nepotism, after hiring several family members based on family acquaintances while violating normal recruitment processes.

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 collective of Algerian academics draw attention to the problems eroding Algeria’s universities: violence, favouritism, deference, and recruitments based on criteria of loyalty and not on competence. According to one of the authors, “the lack of merit, the intrusion of politics in science, and the pre-eminence of administration over the educational corruption, censorship have taken precedence in the university environment”.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has arrested 59 staff of public and private universities between 2017 and 2022 for bribery, abuse of power, false claims and other financial offences. One of the cases involved a director of a public university recently, allegedly receiving a car as an inducement to help a company obtain a tender worth about RM1.6 million, while a university professor was also arrested over alleged false claims involving a research fund of RM66,000.

The Anti-Corruption Commission has charged five members and an executive director of the North South University (NSU) board of governors with abuse of power, increasing their allowances to ten times the approved rate, and buying luxury cars at the expense of students. For more than a decade, NSU has offered several Bachelor of Business Administration programmes without University Grants Commission approval. According to an investigator, NSU was allowed to enrol 50 students in approved BBA programmes, but it enrolled about 2,700 students in one semester.

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.