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.

Funds allocated for teaching and public services are often embezzled in Sub-Saharan Africa by corrupt officers, to the detriment of development.

The governor of the northern province of Nampula has ordered an enquiry of financial mismanagement at the city's main secondary school. The governor ordered that the provincial finance department and the education inspectorate produce a report within a week on the use of about 100 million meticais (about 5,000 US dollars) that is allocated monthly for the maintenance of the school. The school is suffering from broken windows and a shortage of furniture in some classrooms, just four years after it had undergone thorough rehabilitation.

A survey conducted by Transparency International in Ghana, Madagascar, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Uganda covered 8.500 parents, head teachers, heads of Parent Teacher Associations and district education officers. The reports show a lack of budgetary information in school and call for strengthening school financial regulations, clarifying responsibilities, empowering school committees, and engaging with school communities and parents.