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Many instances were witnessed across the country, where parents arrived at schools to return free uniform material vouchers which were invalid. There were also instances where parents complained of the insufficient value attached to these vouchers, and where parents were unable to purchase quality material for a specified price. Against this backdrop, several teachers and principals’ associations staged a joint media briefing in Colombo, highlighting the fact that teachers, students and parents, have been inconvenienced by the new voucher system.

In Uzbekistan, many schools lack basic supplies and teachers sometimes resort to asking pupils for cash to supplement meager budgets. The Uzbek Uchitel Uzbekistana newspaper in August 2007 reported that even the most experienced elementary and secondary-school teachers earn less than $100 a month. In 2007, Transparency International ranked Uzbekistan fifth from bottom in its corruption index of 180 nations surveyed.

Four days of rioting by secondary school students in Libreville last week highlighted a growing frustration with education cutbacks. Corruption and mismanagement of existing resources have contributed to declining standards in public services. The European Union and the Islamic Development Bank had allocated funds for the upkeep of the free school bus service. A newspaper accused the government of reallocating this cash to other areas such as election campaigning.