Following a growing number of misconduct allegations involving ministers and public servants, Queensland Department of Education Director-General announced zero tolerance to fraud and corruption and encouraged a culture of commitment to working with integrity. Employees and state school teachers and staff can now report alleged corruption through a new anonymous online portal.

The rampant corruption and nepotism in appointing and promoting teachers at public universities of the country are alarming. Vice-chancellors or influential teachers use their political power to put pressure on selection committees and unions for the appointment of candidates of their choice as teachers, in violation of established standards, rules and regulations. To promote teachers based on merit at the 46 public universities, UGC submitted a draft policy to the education ministry spelling out the minimum qualifications for the appointment and promotion of public university teachers.

A survey of staff at South Australia’s three major universities has uncovered widespread bullying and harassment, with managers accused of being more concerned with their institution’s reputation than academic and general staff well-being. The Independent Commissioner Against Corruption survey received responses from more than 3,000 staff and one in five said that their university did not have adequate protections for those reporting misconduct and more than 10 per cent said their organization actively discouraged reporting.

Women and girl child rights activists are calling for tougher and broader sexual harassment guidelines at institutions of higher learning in Uganda to avert cases of lecturers and other university administrators taking advantage of the students they teach. After indecently assaulted a student in 2018, a former administrator at Makerere University has been sentenced to only two years in prison or he has the option to pay a fine of UGX4 million (US$1,080). The 2019 Annual Police Crime Report for Uganda tallied sexual violence-related cases, including assault and rape, at 1,528.

According to the director of Higher Education Resource Services South Africa (HERS-SA) paper, 41 (50%) of women had experienced bullying in higher education workplace. Several South African institutions, including the University of Cape Town (UCT), the University of Venda, and UNISA, have been in the news over claims of bullying, amid other controversies. At UCT, the Vice-Chancellor was accused of bullying by 37 UCT academics and staff members. Research also shows that some victims are bullied because they observed and spoke up about corruption, or even worse when they were forced to be part of corrupt processes.