Thanks to the introduction of a new biometric census system, education authorities discovered the presence of 47000 fictitious students in public and private universities in the capital Conakry. Thanks to this information, the government will able to better equip its universities and teaching staff, by making sure that funds are directed where they are most needed. The Minister of Higher Education has indicated that this process may also pave the way for the introduction of an automated university access system.

Tanzania has suspended student loans amounting to TZS3.2 billion (US$1.5 million) affecting over 2,000 students, some of whom are believed to be non-existent as they failed to show up during a verification exercise. Media reports said the two-month-long exercise carried out twice was to confirm that the students who were benefiting through the Tanzania’s Higher Education Students’ Loans Board, or HESLB, at various institutions of higher learning actually existed and were legitimate students.

In rural Cameroon, government budget allocations and expenditures are still hidden from public view. Focal Integrity Team of Cameroon (FITCAM) managed to convince public officials to disclose information of public interest to community organizations. They then supported citizens in holding authorities to account on local education projects in the Fako Division of Buea, in South West Cameroon. After exposing the corrupt practices of contractors, the Ministry of Public Contracts declared savings of 5,342, 765 CFA (approximately $5,980) through renegotiating contracts relating to a number of projects.

Uganda joins the rest of Africa to mark the Africa Public Service Day, an annual event that recognizes value and virtue of service to the community. The objective is to raise the image of public service, thus enhance trust in government, collect, document and share best practices for possible replication within a country as well as across the African Continent.