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A former administrator from Houston Independent School District was sentenced to one year of probation for her involvement in the admission scandal that ensnared wealthy parents across the country. She was accused of taking bribes from the admission consultant at the center of the scheme in exchange for allowing someone to sit exams on behalf of their clients ‘children or correct their answers. 50 more people were arrested last year in the scheme, in which authorities say undeserving kids were admitted to top universities with bogus athletic credentials or fake test scores.

A recent survey reveals that large numbers of students use “little tricks” in order to achieve good results during online exams. Cheating techniques include sticking cards behind the computer or on the walls during video oral exams, to sharing their answers in groups on social networks. Due to financial constraints, many universities have not been able to implement video surveillance systems to prevent students from cheating.

Academic corruption linked to the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the urgency of strengthening transparency and accountability in African universities. Such corruption includes research malpractice, questionable research management, mismanagement of research funds and procurement fraud. Several university officials bypassed public procurement procedures for the purchase of materials and equipment for coronavirus research. 33 papers were identified as unsuitable for public use and either retracted, withdrawn, or noted with concern.

172 cases of sexual harassment committed by students and staff have been reported in the past five years. A science professor left the university in September after sexual harassment allegations made by a female employee and NUS and the police launched investigations. However, in many cases, complaints might result in termination without disclosure, allowing the faculty member to secure a job elsewhere and continue his career.

In the three months before March 15, the company ProctorU, which monitors tests remotely, confirmed cheating in 2,547 cases. In the three months after, when the pandemic triggered campuses across the US to move online, ProctorU verified 57,597 cheating incidents. Ethicists say that students Googling answers on tests have an unfair advantage over students who do not. This same behaviour by medical students or apprentice pilots has consequences that are even more serious, as it places others in jeopardy.

Private universities in Yemen charge tuition fees in US dollars and create their own currency exchange rates, causing many students to drop out of school. Until 2017, the Central Bank of Yemen in Sanaa set the price of the dollar at 250 Yemeni rials. However, private universities in Taiz set the exchange rate at 400 rials for a dollar and the universities of Aden at 500. Other private universities require students in Aden to pay in dollars and do not accept rials. This forces students to resort to the black market, with an exchange rate of 820 rials per dollar.

A former Harvard coach accepted $1.5m in bribes in exchange for helping a businessperson get his two sons into the Ivy League school as fencers. They face charges with conspiracy to take bribes under federal programmes. The coach was fired in July 2019 for violating Harvard’s conflict-of-interest policy.

Six officials at the Apex School of Theology orchestrated a scam to fraudulently claim $12 million in Federal student aid. The scheme involved recruiting fake students, forging fake applications for financial aid, as well as plagiarizing schoolwork and diplomas. FBI called the conspiracy a “blatant abuse of a Federally funded program” and “an insult to all taxpayers.

According to reports from the National Examinations Board, the Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) English tests have been leaked. Answers had already been posted on social networks while candidates were waiting to take the test. Police in Lilongwe arrested three students from Kabwabwa Community Day Secondary School after they were found discussing a theory paper on agriculture that had been administered during the MSCE exams on Monday. Investigations are underway to establish the source of the leak.