Corruption and the education sector

This paper discusses reasons why national education systems are particularly vulnerable to pervasive corruption, forms that corruption takes within the education sector, and interventions that have been suggested for reducing corruption. It argues that, while there are ample examples of large-scale corruption within central education ministries, the most serious consequences arise from the pervasive, petty corruption that permeates the day-to-day transactions at the classroom, school, and district levels (like the educational procurement process...). The paper discusses donor complicity in corruption, for example, when donors overlook corruption in order to achieve larger strategic political interests, provide funding at levels that exceeds absorptive capacity, or penalize contractors for slow implementation caused by their unwillingness to pay petty bribes to facilitate work flow on projects they manage. Finally, it highlights the efforts in several countries to reduce corruption through the introduction of more objective measures for greater transparency, and effective use of community organizations.