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Secretive clauses are being used to conceal the extent of harassment and bullying at higher education institutions. Dozens of academics told BBC News they were “harassed” out of their jobs and forced to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) by their university after making complaints. British universities have spent about £87 million on bribes to staff members who come with “gagging orders” the past two years. This highlights a broader lack of transparency in the way universities deal with all kinds of misconduct and discrimination.

A United Kingdom-based professor in education has declared that the promotion of teachers to the rank of principal in Jamaica is a flawed, corrupt enterprise prejudiced towards the 'favoured'. The Professor, reader in education at Brunel University in the United Kingdom, has contended that the progression of teachers in Jamaica to school leadership is characterised by systemic corruption.

The Malaysian government announced the allocation of seats at public universities last week, and it sparked uproar among ethnic Chinese and Indians. Only 19% of places were awarded to Chinese and 4% to Indian students – and even some with the highest exam scores failed to gain a place on their preferred course. The ethnic breakdown of the Malaysian population is 23% Chinese and 7% Indian, while 60% are Malay according to the most recent census. The results prompted the treasurer general of the Malaysian Indian Congress,– to say it was "the most unfair and biased public university intake in the history of Malaysia".

A new system of performance-related pay in schools risks fuelling a rise in fraud as teachers attempt to falsify pupils' results to win salary rises. Teachers could be tempted to "over-egg" children's work to prove they are doing a good job and the proposals could also lead to major employment disputes within schools if teachers who fail to receive higher pay lodge official discrimination claims.

A Chinese system that places promising athletes in prestigious universities while the less athletic compete in annual entrance examinations is spurring controversy and considerable debate which may lead to reforms.

More than 600 degree programmes in 60 universities in Iran are now segregated by gender, in what is being seen as a major expansion of the government's efforts to separate male and female students. Iranian rights groups released the report of a study by Student News, which found that there has not only been an increase in gender separation but also in gender discrimination.

Afghan education officials have found themselves embroiled in controversy after a record number of students failed in national university entry exams last week. Afghan students accuse the Higher Education Ministry, which determines university placement, of fraud and discrimination, insisting that as many as 60,000 of them failed purely on the basis of their ethnicity and mother language.