What we do

The ETICO programme, initiated in 2001, aims to strengthen educational planning and management strategies by promoting a culture of ethics, reducing corrupt practices, and integrating the principles of transparency and accountability at the political level. Our experts support the UNESCO Member States through three main channels:
Research, Training, Strategic Assistance

Our research

IIEP-UNESCO's research is a critical component of its strategy to build knowledge and stimulate information exchange on the topic of ethics and corruption in education. Over the years, the Institute has led a series of research programmes to document efficient strategies for promoting transparency and accountability in educational planning and management.

Please click on the links for more information on each topic:

• Open government in education [ongoing]
• Open school data
• Fighting academic fraud
• Adverse effects of private supplementary schooling
• Efficient use and conception of teacher codes of conduct
• Achieving transparency in pro-poor education incentives
• Formula funding of schools, decentralization; corruption:
  A comparative analysis

IIEP’s published reports and research findings on the theme of Ethics and Corruption are available under ETICO Publications.

Our training courses

As part of its effort to strengthen national capacities, IIEP organizes a variety of training activities on transparency, accountability, and anti-corruption issues in the education sector. In total, it has trained more than 2,600 people since 2003 on a variety of related subjects.

Residential training courses as well as study visits are most commonly organised in response to requests from UNESCO Member States, development partners, or civil society organizations, and contribute to international capacity development efforts of public officials and other education stakeholders. In addition, IIEP offers online courses targeted at country teams as part of its regular training offer

Some examples of recent ETICO’s training activities include:

• Online course on ‘Transparency, accountability and measures for fighting corruption in education
• Training seminar on ‘Integrity, ethics, and measures to fight corruption in higher education’ in Uzbekistan
• Study trips to Switzerland with political officials from Kosovo* and Montenegro, on integrity in higher education

Study trip to Australia with delegations from seven Asian countries, around the My School initiative.

Download training materials from past ETICO courses via our interactive map

Our strategic assistance

Corruption-risks assessments, implementation of public expenditure tracking surveys, or development of codes of conduct: IIEP offers practical solutions to help UNESCO Member States fight corruption in education.

Assessing corruption-risks in education

IIEP supports countries by carrying out exhaustive evaluations of corruption risks in the areas of pre-school, primary, secondary, and higher education, as well as technical and vocational training (TVET). Based on its experience, IIEP has developed its own methodology to adapt to the context of each country.

You can access IIEPs recent assessments in Guinea and Georgia here, or the full list of assessments here

Public expenditure tracking surveys

Public expenditure tracking surveys are used to trace funding flows intended for education, and measure the rate of leakage. IIEP has worked to strengthen the capacity of national teams to conceive and implement such surveys in countries such as: South Africa, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Ghana and Uganda. Find out more

Codes and charters of ethics and conduct

The Institute offers support to UNESCO Member States involved in the process of launching or revising their teacher codes of conduct or Charter of Ethics in countries such as: Kuwait, Lao PDR, or Montenegro.

Access the teacher codes of conduct of almost 80 countries via our interactive map

*All references to Kosovo are made in the context of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999).