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Before each school year, the Ministry of Education publishes a list of approved textbooks, from which teachers will choose the ones they will use in class. For the 2017-2018 school year, the list is 30 pages long. There is big money in school books, explains a publisher who wants to remain anonymous. "Getting on the list is the Holy Grail, and no holds are barred. Imagine a little, it's a huge market, more than 5 million students! Everyone wants their share of the pie: authors, publishers, printers or distributors, even if the methods they use are not always legal.”

An anti-corruption mechanism has been set up in three Côte d'Ivoire towns (Divo, Korhogo and Bouaké). This is a toll-free number that allows victims of corruption in schools to report the perpetrators and any acts of corruption without risk of reprisals.

The Director General of Transparency International Africa talks about the fight against corruption in schools. She looks more specifically at the situation in Côte d'Ivoire, and the extent of "endemic corruption". In her view, the responsibility for fighting corruption lies with all citizens, and governments have a responsibility to give young people the space to act.

Compared to boys, girls are more exposed to corrupt practices, especially girls within the 15-19 age group. Eradicating the phenomenon through the increase of public awareness and the creation of units to fight corruption in schools is the challenge facing educational authorities.