Search Page

The High Authority for Good Governance in Côte d'Ivoire has announced the completion of the design of the manuals and training programme entitled "Education in the Fight against Corruption", intended for students and future civil servants. The documents will be forwarded to the government for adoption. This project on the fight against corruption was launched in 2019 from preschool to higher education through primary, secondary, technical and vocational education, as well as vocational training schools.

To prevent the leakage of question papers and other malpractices, the West African Examination Council (WAEC) has tightened the security of the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination. Ten cases of breaches of WAEC rules were identified, including people linked to rogue websites, while the suspects in three cases were convicted and fined by the court. According to the head of Public Affairs of WAECA, schools accused of malpractice will be monitored and confidential material and examination papers will be stored.

The National Commission of Medical, Dental and Pharmacy Students of Morocco (CNEMEP) has asked the Moroccan Ministry of Higher Education to investigate screenshots of conversations on WhatsApp groups showing medical school candidates cheating in their admission exams. The CNEMEP has announced legal and administrative procedures against the parties involved. If necessary, the exam will be repeated to give all applicants equal opportunities and protect the reputation of the faculty.

Four students have been arrested for allegedly engaging in malpractice during the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations via Whatsapp and Telegram platforms. Detectives used cyber and digital forensics to intercept dozens of messages containing screenshots of the papers that are currently being examined. According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the Ministry of Education’s efforts to preserve the integrity of administering the examination have been jeopardized by corrupted government officials.

To avoid leakage of funds, the University of Nairobi has introduced a comprehensive lecturers’ management system that will ensure that only active students will sit for examinations and have their marks recorded. More than 30,000 inactive students who had overstayed the period required to complete a programme degree have been deregistered.

Nigeria’s National Universities Commission (NUC) had discovered fake institutions in Benin awarding PhD degrees after students completed bogus studies in less than one year. According to NUC, academic projects and theses were sold for about NGN3,000 (about US$7.32) per copy, and sexual harassment was prevalent. Many of these fraudulent institutions are run by Nigerian proprietors who target students from Nigeria, where public universities struggle to accommodate a high number of qualified students seeking admission.

A 2018 study revealed that 70.7% of second-year students at 8 Mai 1945 Guelma University in Algeria admitted that they had cheated in tests as a result of competition for grades, parental expectations and ineffective invigilation by the teacher. In an effort to protect academic integrity, the Algerian Ministry of Higher Education approved a new law at the end of 2020 that sets out the legal procedures for preventing scientific and academic theft.

According to a professor from Nigeria’s Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), over 400 candidates seeking admission into higher education institutions across the country have been involved in admissions fraud. JAMB has discovered up to 96 cases of computer-based test irregularities in the North, with universities making changes to photographs and biometrics of candidates. This is contrary to a call by the Minister of Education who said institutions should not take any new photographs or biometrics of candidates after registration, in order to stop impersonations.

2,400 students from the colleges of agriculture, environmental and human sciences and engineering have had their marks withheld by UNISA due to concerns over cheating. Over 750 warning letter have been issued and other 200 cases were still outstanding. The consequences of cheating can results in disqualification from future tests or examinations, and exclusions or expulsions from the university.