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According to the International Center for Academic Integrity, about 68 % of undergraduate students and about 43 % of graduate students admit to cheating on tests or in written assignments. Several studies point to a similar problem in high school. Technology has made it easier to cheat in exams and on writing assignments, but it is also making it increasingly easier to be caught.

Academics in Algeria are concerned about the practice of ordering and paying for ready-made theses that are growing among students at all levels, including masters and Ph.D. The amount of money requested by the “institution” ranges between DZD50, 000 (US$420) and DZD200, 000 (US$1,670) depending on the quality of service, educational level, and the period taken to deliver the requested thesis.

“Contract cheating” is becoming commonplace in many Australian universities, with a range of easily accessed services offering to complete assignments or sit an exam for money. Some services even offer the students the possibility of choosing the type of grade, the price is adjusted according to the grade they wish to obtain. The Government submitted new legislation and the person providing cheating services to students could face two years in jail and a $210,000 fine.

The Institute of Business Economics’ rector and deputy are charged with fraud, forging of documents and their sale, commercial bribery, and mediation. One of the Institute applicants said that the admissions office offered her to pay 450 thousand rubles ($7,054) for three years of study. The fact that the university was deprived of its license two years earlier did not prevent the rector from concluding contracts with candidates for paid higher education.

The Higher Attestation Commission (VAK) refused to hear the results on academic integrity violations in academic dissertations from the Commission to Combat the Falsification of Scholarly Research, which operates within the Russian Academy of Science (RAN). The head of VAK refused to review a plagiarized dissertation and to let RAN academics into the hearing room. Moreover, VAK excluded academics who have attempted to take a stand against falsified dissertations.

The number of students disciplined for academic misconduct at the University of Auckland rose to 195 last year, from 187 the year before. Cheating incidents reported have highlighted concerns about the reuse of assignments and the fact that ghostwriters undermine school integrity. According to the Tertiary Education Union president, university bosses should support teaching staff to implement the best anti-cheating measures such as changing assignments frequently and requiring students to submit their work through detection service Turnitin.

In order to cope with the assessment demands of rapidly growing student numbers, and rising incidents of grade tampering and cheating, many African universities are exploring the option of e-exams. While the traditional systems can go as far as bribe-taking by lecturers, invigilators and supervisors as well as examination leakages, e -exams might not be suitable for testing skills like synthesizing information, understanding evidence, critical problem-solving.

Many Indian students fall prey to unscrupulous middlemen and end up being admitted to fake or sub-standard universities after spending substantial amounts of money. In order to help students authenticate courses and institutions in America and prevent fraud, the United States Embassy in India is launching a specially designed app. The US app developed as a pilot project in partnership with an Indian visa and immigration consultancy firm will provide guidance from trained advisories and information on scholarships.

According to Transparency International, 66 per cent of the money Nigerian governments allocate to education is stolen by corrupt officials. Resource misallocation, corrupt procurement, exchange of sex for grades, examination malpractices, fake qualifications, teacher absenteeism, and corrupt recruitment practices are just some examples of the challenges the education systems is facing. This affects the quality of education, inclusion and learning outcomes with devastating consequences for national economic growth.

There have been several institutions located in the UK illegally operating under the title ‘university’. The ‘free universities’ like the Ragged University and Free University Brighton (FUB) offer courses generally sustained through free labor, which means they are unlikely to prove enduring. According to the Minister of immigration, the government had “struck off nearly 900 bogus colleges” which operate as portals for illegal immigrants. A Norwich couple was found guilty of fraudulently running the British Nutrition Council and the International Distance College, which defrauded around 900 individuals.