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Tales of corruption in Nigeria are many in number. One example is the case of the clerk at the state examinations board who was called to account for the disappearance of $100,000 in exam fees. An analyst of the country says: "There's this perception among officials in Nigeria that national government is there to divide up the booty of oil wealth." That political culture then filters through to layers below, to the point where even local police or school teachers or receptionists at public hospitals may consider it their right to demand bribes. "It's about people monetizing their position in society so that even people with the lowest amount of authority will use that to extract a small amount."

Corruption charges and the arrest of former vice-chancellor of Bharathiar University still fresh, another controversy erupted on Monday, this time in the form of a video. The clip that surfaced showed the head of the Tamil department receiving money from a person, allegedly for a posting in the university. The state higher education department has decided to send the video to the police department and probe its authenticity as well as the allegations.

A row over whether or not the president of the Community of Madrid used her influence to obtain a masters degree has led to 30 university professors from across Spain signing a petition to denounce ongoing ‘academic corruption’ in Spanish educational institutions. The professors say the case against the Partido Popular (PP, a conservative party) president of Madrid’s Autonomous Community, is “a scandal without precedent” and argue that “the future of the public university and science in Spain will be determined by how this crisis is resolved”.

Thanks to the introduction of a new biometric census system, education authorities discovered the presence of 47000 fictitious students in public and private universities in the capital Conakry. Thanks to this information, the government will able to better equip its universities and teaching staff, by making sure that funds are directed where they are most needed. The Minister of Higher Education has indicated that this process may also pave the way for the introduction of an automated university access system.

Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission this month issued a public notice listing 153 illegal universities and degree-awarding institutions. A large number of illegal universities mentioned in the HEC notice do not exist, some are run from apartments and commercial buildings and issue degrees not recognised by higher education authorities of the federal or provincial governments. Academics say, however, the rising trend of fake universities cannot be discouraged without punitive action against the management of the bogus institutions.

Social accountability projects are implemented with citizen engagement to ensure certain degree of accountability at all levels. Two social accountability projects have been implemented, operating in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Act 2009. These projects aim to improve involvement of citizens in the management of local government finance. At least three students have been caught by Rangsit University staff in Bangkok overseeing an exam. As a result, the university has called for a change in the law to prosecute students who cheat and criminals who assist them. Officials say they are part of a group that charges students thousands of dollars for exam answers.

Universities in Shanghai have been taken to task for inflating graduate employment figures as the Shanghai City administration, in cooperation with higher education institutions, recently published its first report on the destination of recent graduates. While some have lauded the report for increasing transparency on employment prospects for graduates, others have said the Shanghai government was colluding with universities to “entice” students to enrol in these universities.

The medical education sector in the state has turned out to be a platform for corruption. Critics have urged the government to ensure that the MBBS seats are allotted to those who have cleared the National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test (NEET). They also urged the state government to frame a common policy on medical education.

The Punjab government has amended Punjab Universities' Acts to bring vice-chancellors under scrutiny after identifying unabated misuse of powers by them under the garb of emergency powers. It reported that almost all Punjab universities' vice-chancellors had appointed top officials in universities, including registrars, treasurers and controllers of examinations by giving additional charge to their "favorite" faculty members.