Secretive clauses are being used to conceal the extent of harassment and bullying at higher education institutions. Dozens of academics told BBC News they were “harassed” out of their jobs and forced to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) by their university after making complaints. British universities have spent about £87 million on bribes to staff members who come with “gagging orders” the past two years. This highlights a broader lack of transparency in the way universities deal with all kinds of misconduct and discrimination.

British medical authorities acknowledged on Monday that they were checking the credentials of some 3,000 foreign physicians after one was convicted of fraud and accused of falsifying qualifications. A physician used a qualification from her native New Zealand for more than two decades which enabled her to treat patients suffering from dementia and an array of other psychiatric complaints. However, in recent weeks, an investigation by a provincial newspaper uncovered a very different version of her background.

According to Slovak media the Speaker of the Slovakian Parliament has been accused of having copied his JuDR doctoral thesis in law from five other sources. The politician put his thesis in the university library under embargo, when the accusations first arose. Comenius University announced that a doctoral dissertation with the same title and same number of pages was missing in its university archive and that an enquiry has been launched.

Reports that one of Japan's most prestigious medical universities tampered with female applicants' entrance exam scores have sparked an outcry on social media. Tokyo Medical University began altering results in 2011 to ensure under 30% of successful applicants would be women. The private university says it will investigate the discrimination reports. Users online took aim at the Japanese government over the scandal. Critics suggested the allegations were ironic given Prime Minister stated commitment to boost female participation in the workforce. The biggest daily newspaper in Japan, Yomiuri Shimbun, published the report examining student admission numbers on Thursday, generating complaints.

Apparently, degrees from Aberdeen University and Robert Gordon University can be obtained for as little as £200, complete with university emblems and gold seals. It has emerged that copies of RGU degrees even contained faked signatures. Other institutions being targeted include St Andrews University, Glasgow University, and Edinburgh University. The information has come to light after a Sunday newspaper claimed that one website sold over 3,000 fake qualifications from various education establishments to UK-based buyers between 2013 and 2014. These included degrees, doctorates, and PhDs.

YouTube stars are being paid to sell academic cheating, a BBC investigation has found. More than 250 channels are promoting EduBirdie, based in Ukraine, which allows students to buy essays, rather than doing the work themselves. YouTube said it would help creators understand they cannot promote dishonest behaviour. The BBC Trending investigation uncovered more than 1,400 videos with a total of more than 700 million views containing EduBirdie adverts selling cheating to students and school pupils.

KXAS-TV was awarded a 2017 Peabody Award for its extensive NBC 5 Investigates series, “Big Buses, Bigger Problems: Taxpayers Taken for a Ride”. NBC 5’s investigation exposed a web of corruption, staggering financial mismanagement, hidden personal relationships and conflicts of interest inside Dallas County Schools, a public agency responsible for transporting more than 75,000 school children daily in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.