Search Page

The Director of the Future Gate Agency was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined 7 million dinars (about $50,000) after 75 Algerian students who wanted to enrol in foreign universities, including in Ukraine, Turkey, and Russia, fell victim to fraud. Although they paid the Agency large sums of money, the accommodation conditions were wretched, and their university applications forged. Two of their assistants and three influencers, prosecuted in the same case, were given one year in prison and fined 100,000 dinars (about $700) each.

Politicians, senior education officials, headmasters, and businesspeople are taking advantage of their positions to line their pockets with state funds. According to a study, the acts of corruption in Thailand range from the embezzling of state funds, colluding to mark up prices of educational and school construction materials, as well as demanding bribes from parents who want their children to be enrolled in a particular school. Irresponsible officials and school directors steal about 30% of the total budget.

Despite the promises of great reforms in education made by the new President, the Soviet system is still running. Many allege that the bureaucrats involved in the renovations of schools frequently sign dual contracts with foreign construction companies, deliberately designed to allow a huge portion of the reported contract costs to disappear. Moreover, bribes are still viewed as a secondary prerequisite for university admission after one's scores on standardized entrance examinations.

Community endowment funds are being experimented in Egypt. They are managed by village committees with the active participation of parents with support from the private sector. They lobby government for better resource allocation.