Although the post-conflict period ended officially in 2006, the Ministry of Education is still not able to effectively monitor teaching and learning processes nationwide. The system records teachers who do not physically exist, teachers that do not teach (´ghost teachers`), and teachers receiving salaries from several schools. In mid-2006, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) placed two experts in the Planning Directorate of the Education Ministry in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, to set up an Education Management Information System (EMIS). This article summarizes the results of their investigations.

There is a certain frustration at the Mpraeso Secondary School over the administration's attempts to improve accountability and transparency. The implementation of anti-corruption measures through the automation of accounting and administrative procedures as a means of checking and curbing corruption has been bogged by official apathy. The computerization programme, 'School Management Programme', that could have cost the school about ¢5 million a few months ago will now cost the school almost double that amount.

The Ministry of Education has launched a new curricula for both primary and secondary schools in Iraq. The aim is to raise awareness and understanding of the concepts of integrity, transparency, human rights and honesty. The new curricula was designed by the Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the UNDP. This innovative initiative is the first of its kind to be introduced in Iraq.

Last December, 1,055 high school communities around Mexico – comprising almost 1.3 million students – engaged in a transparency and accountability exercise. This involves each principal of public high schools completing three electronic forms covering more than 100 indicators. These range from income and expenditure, to enrolment and academic performance, to the condition of school equipment and infrastructure.

KOLHAPUR: Like the grading system in higher education through the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), the state government will soon introduce the State Assessment and Accreditation Council (SAAC) system for the assessment and accreditation of the primary and secondary schools across the state, a move welcomed by city-based education activists who say it will bring transparency to the education system and will force schools to improve their infrastructure and education quality

At the opening ceremony of the zonal conference of the Association of Women in Colleges of Education (WICE), the Provost of the College of Education, decried the existence of corrupt practices in schools. He said corruption can be reduced when people embraced the principles of transparency, integrity and accountability in public and private transaction. The theme of the conference was: “The role of education in curbing corruption and youth unemployment in the 21st Century.”