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In South Africa, an incident at a school in Soweto revived the debate over false teacher qualifications. This week, a former primary school teacher stabbed a director who had suspended him. The teacher was dismissed after the school discovered, following a complaint from parents, that he had lied about his qualifications and had no diploma. According to the South African Council of Educators, dozens or even hundreds of teachers lie about their qualifications.

The national education minister has stated that a number of measures will be put in place in order to fight fraud during the next baccalaureate test cycle, including securing the online site of the National Examinations and Competitive Examination Office (ONEC), and preparing back-up questions. The minister emphasised the need to implement technical measures in order to adapt to developments in information technology and communication and respond to the challenges that arise as a result.

A professor in political economy at the world’s oldest university has more or less invited his students to copy. It is his way of speaking out against the impunity of certain of his colleagues accused of plagiarism. He announced “I will not be checking to see if you have copied your work as I cannot, in good conscience, ask you to respect rules that the University of Bologna allows it’s professors to violate.”

In Algers on Sunday, the prime minister reiterated the government’s willingness to fight against fraud in the education sector, following the leaking of the 2016 baccalaureate exam questions, and called on Algeria’s citizens to join the fight against such behaviours. “The recent Fraud experienced in the education and knowledge sector is inacceptable and the government is determined to fight it to its fullest extent” declared the Prime Minister. “When this level of knowledge is targeted, it becomes a matter of national security.”

The national education ministry announced on Wednesday that an inquiry had been launched following social media reports that test questions may have been leaked, in order to identify and prosecute any individuals who may be implicated. The ministry reassured test candidates that that the exam would proceed as expected. The ministry added that it is “committed to guaranteeing candidates their right to equal opportunities” and wished them “success for the rests of their exams.”

The national education minister announced in Alger on Wednesday that a joint commission would be set up to follow up on the application of the code of ethics signed at the end of November 2015 by the ministry and union representatives from the sector. The implementation of this commission, which counts among its member representatives from the ministry, unions and parent teacher associates, aims to follow up on the effective application on the ground of the different clauses of the code. The commission will be tasked with finding the mechanisms which will “make this code effective, in particular at the local level”.

In a recent radio interview, the education minister highlighted the national campaign currently undergoing preparation in her ministerial department aimed at students and their parents in order to make them aware of the fight against examination fraud, which is becoming increasingly common in schools. The minister stated that, despite the fact that cheaters are using increasingly sophisticated technology, the education sector is determined to fight this trend.

Cheating in exams, especially ones that could lead to jobs in the public sector, has reached epidemic proportions in India, and the means employed by young people in order to cheat compete with the methods employed by examiners to stop them. During a written recruitment test for entry into the Indian army held in the Bihar state, candidates has to strip down to their underwear in order to prevent any attempt to cheat.