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The scale of student misconduct in Ukraine has been exposed by a survey of undergraduates that found nearly half have paid bribes and almost all admitted to plagiarism and cheating on exams. Of 600 students surveyed at public universities in Lviv -- a city in the west of Ukraine seen as relatively uncorrupt -- 48 percent had paid bribes. Bribery was far more common for compulsory modules like physical education and workplace safety, and professional programs like business, law and medicine, it found.

A major Chinese education company has paid thousands of dollars in perks or cash to admissions officers at top U.S. universities to help students apply to American schools. According to eight former employees the company’s services didn’t end there. Employees engaged in practices such as writing application essays for students, altering recommendation letters and modifying grades on high school transcripts. The company’s success in gaining access to leading American colleges underscores how people on both sides of the Pacific are hungry to capitalize on Chinese students’ desire to study in the United States.

The Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) today launched the corruption risks report in the education sector in Liberia. The report highlights the serious nature of corruption in the education sector in Liberia, especially Montserrado County where the study was done. The study revealed that 36 percent of students pay bribes for grades, while 27 percent pay bribes for promotion to higher grades and 23 percent pay bribes for exams.

In 2007, Transparency International gave Vietnam a dismal 2.6 rating score on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being least corrupt. Corruption is epidemic in Vietnam: bribes for school entrance, exams, and assessment occurs every day. Corruptive practices are the norm rather than the exception. In the informal survey of classes, more than 95 percent of the students reported they had cheated at least once in a class, and all had observed situations of cheating by other students.

A student at a university in Osh is elected by his classmates to pay the bribes necessary for his classmates to get the grades they want. Typically, a student who chooses to buy an education pays about $40 to $50 per semester. Many professors are willing to accept bribes simply to meet basic needs. Salaries for teachers rarely exceed $100 a month.