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A Nottingham teacher has collected 3,800 reports on corruption in the international school system that deal with nepotism, fraud, and cheating. In England, they highlight structural "reform", with its waste of money on free schools that never open, the horrific ongoing costs of successive Private Finance Initiatives (PFIs), and the way schools are pitched against each other to survive. Examples include an academy boss telling teachers to cheat on exams and the widespread relocation of students to improve school performance.

A nursery director is accused of taking advantage of a government funding programme for early childhood and pre-school education, which allowed two to four-year-olds from disadvantaged families to benefit from free nursery time between January 2017 and December 2018. She denies submitting bogus claims for funding credit and asking parents to lie about their situations.

Across the country, academies have been plagued by allegations of financial impropriety, conflicts of interest and even corruption. Unlike schools under local authority control, academies are responsible for their own financial management. Although this means that developing good corporate relations is essential, many have ended up without a proper framework for transparency and accountability. A 2014 report for parliament claimed that “conflicts of interest are common”, adding: “There is a broader sense that the academy system lacks transparency.”

A leaked report has revealed “extreme” government concern after an academy trust was found to have paid its chief executive more than £82,000 for 15 weeks’ work. The investigation, which took place over June and July this year, also found that Wakefield City Academy were unable to produce the list of students receiving pupil premium payments (additional funding to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils in schools).

Non-governmental organizations (NGO) have stated there are corruption schemes in the Ministry of Education and Science related to budget funds allocated for the needs of schools. According to the leader of NGO Maidan Information the Ministry of Education issued an order, according to which only one firm can supply school equipment. He noted that most equipment in schools have not been updated since the Soviet times, therefore it is unclear what happens with the UAH 200 million in state funds set aside for this purpose.