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In South Africa, an incident at a school in Soweto revived the debate over false teacher qualifications. This week, a former primary school teacher stabbed a director who had suspended him. The teacher was dismissed after the school discovered, following a complaint from parents, that he had lied about his qualifications and had no diploma. According to the South African Council of Educators, dozens or even hundreds of teachers lie about their qualifications.

The national education minister has stated that a number of measures will be put in place in order to fight fraud during the next baccalaureate test cycle, including securing the online site of the National Examinations and Competitive Examination Office (ONEC), and preparing back-up questions. The minister emphasised the need to implement technical measures in order to adapt to developments in information technology and communication and respond to the challenges that arise as a result.

A professor in political economy at the world’s oldest university has more or less invited his students to copy. It is his way of speaking out against the impunity of certain of his colleagues accused of plagiarism. He announced “I will not be checking to see if you have copied your work as I cannot, in good conscience, ask you to respect rules that the University of Bologna allows it’s professors to violate.”

This is what is provided in a law passed last autumn to combat endemic levels of cheating during the gaokao, china’s national exam which determines the future career of its candidates. Following the adoption of the law, student caught or accused of cheating can face seven years imprisonment in a state gaol. A law voted in last autumn, also makes cheating a crime. This is why, last Tuesday 7 June, the day of the goakao, the Chinese authorities ordered the deployment of 768 police officers, tasked with supervising the country’s 96 exam centres.

Copying is stealing. This anti-plagiarism adage is at the heart of a case which has shaken the small world of French medievalists for the last two years. Today the case has come back with a new demonstration of plagiarist behaviour which is forcing universities and scientific communities to be face up to their responsibilities. And more generally, raises the question of whether the university system as a whole has the ability to tackle this issue, over and above the case in question.

In Algers on Sunday, the prime minister reiterated the government’s willingness to fight against fraud in the education sector, following the leaking of the 2016 baccalaureate exam questions, and called on Algeria’s citizens to join the fight against such behaviours. “The recent Fraud experienced in the education and knowledge sector is inacceptable and the government is determined to fight it to its fullest extent” declared the Prime Minister. “When this level of knowledge is targeted, it becomes a matter of national security.”

The national education ministry announced on Wednesday that an inquiry had been launched following social media reports that test questions may have been leaked, in order to identify and prosecute any individuals who may be implicated. The ministry reassured test candidates that that the exam would proceed as expected. The ministry added that it is “committed to guaranteeing candidates their right to equal opportunities” and wished them “success for the rests of their exams.”