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An anthropology professor at Yale College reported to the University’s Executive Committee that 81 out of 136 total students for inappropriate use of online and course materials during online open-note examinations. In 2020, the Executive Committee reprimanded 49 out of 78 students, 10 were placed on probation, five were suspended and 14 were found not responsible or had their charges withdrawn.

The cases of corruption in the education sector in Oyo State are ranging from reports of school administrators collecting money, students sitting mock exams, officials asking for grants from principals before distributing the school materials the government purchased for students to receiving money from teachers to deploy them to preferred areas. The governor announced that dismissal and prosecution awaited anyone who sabotaged government efforts through corrupt practices.

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is in talks with HRD Ministry, CBSE, AICTE, Medical Council of India (MCI) and other educational bodies to introduce course content on corruption and ethics to make the students aware of the scourge and its consequences. If implemented, students in schools and colleges will soon be imparted lessons on the menace of corruption, its debilitating impact on socio-economic sphere and ways of tackling it.

A new report has unearthed massive irregularities in the procurement of textbooks for public schools, with head teachers playing a key role in the racket. The fraud ranges from forged signatures, delivery of phantom books, overpricing and single-sourcing of suppliers by instructional materials selection committees at the school level. Education Cabinet Secretary recently said that though the government allocated Sh10 billion for books in the last three years, most schools did not have the materials. He estimated that the pupil-to-book ratio stood at 5:1 in primary schools.

Cairo University, Egypt’s biggest state-run academic institution, has initiated an action plan against thriving but unlawful ‘teaching centres’ in its vicinity, accusing them of “undermining the educational process”. The centres, located just outside campus, are accused of pirating academic books, producing sub-standard study guides and holding fee-charging crash courses for students. Academics, whose books have allegedly been pirated by the centres, say their complaints to law-enforcement authorities have not drawn a response.

A number of students in a law school were caught cheating in exams; one student was found writing answers already copied in a smart watch. The student either programmed answer sheets or recorded course materials into the device. One practicing lawyer in Abuja said such attitude may have long-term effects on those involved; it had undermined the integrity and independence of the graduands and could possibly increase the likelihood of the abuse of the attorney-client privilege as well as create weak industry-wide anti-corruption standards.