CORRUPTION

IN EDUCATION
SERVICES
Compiled by the
Anti-Corruption Helpdesk
Transparency International is a global movement with one vision:
a world in which government, business, civil society and the daily
lives of people are free of corruption. With more than 100 chapters
worldwide and an international secretariat in Berlin, we are leading
the fight against corruption to turn this vision into reality.

www.transparency.org

Authors: Iñaki Albisu Ardigó; Marie Chêne, [email protected]

Reviewer(s): Matthew Jenkins

Contributing experts: Umrbek Allakulov (Water Integrity Network),

Shaazka Beyerle (US Institute of Peace); Simone Bloem (Center for
Applied Policy); Claire Grandadam (Water Integrity Network);
Jacques Hallak (Jules Verne University – Amiens); Mihaylo Milovanovitch
(Centre For Applied Policy); Muriel Poisson (International Institute for
Educational Planning (IIEP-UNESCO); Juanita Riano (Inter-American
Development Bank); Marc Y. Tassé (Canadian Centre of Excellence
for Anti-Corruption); Vítězslav Titl (University of Siegen); Davide Torsello
(Central European University Business School); Patty Zakaria
(Royal Roads University)

ISBN: 978-3-96076-066-5
© 2017 Transparency International. All rights reserved.

Design: sophieeverett.com.au
© Cover photo: Mahmoud Ahmed. Used with permission.
Image caption: A young woman in Nairobi, Kenya gazing with little hope at low
wage jobs bulletin. A reoccurring scene around many countries where corruption
and government nepotism results in the lack of opportunities for the youth.

With support from the European Commission

This document should not be considered as representative of the European

Commission or Transparency International’s official position. Neither the European
Commission, Transparency International nor any person acting on behalf of the
Commission is responsible for how the following information is used.

Every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of the information contained
in this report. All information was believed to be correct as of October 2017.
Nevertheless, Transparency International cannot accept responsibility for the
consequences of its use for other purposes or in other contexts.
CONTENTS

Why fight corruption in education? 02

Key issues and challenges 03
Forms of corruption in education 03
Challenges for addressing corruption in education 06
Approaches to address corruption in the education sector 08
Budget and expenditure monitoring 08
Education management information systems (EMIS) 08
Management of human resources 09
Codes of conduct and integrity pledges 09
Quality control mechanisms 09
Complaints mechanism and whistleblowing protection 10
Parent-led initiatives 10
Resources on corruption in education 11
End notes 20
WHY FIGHT CORRUPTION IN EDUCATION?

With the formulation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), leaders from around
the world have made a political commitment to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality
education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” (SDG 4) by 2030.

Education is a fundamental human right, a key driver of lower test scores, poor school rankings and lower
economic development and a social investment in the satisfaction with the public education system.9
future. It provides citizens with the skills and tools to
As a result, corruption undermines the public’s trust
sustain their livelihoods, escape poverty and contribute
in the education system and its usefulness, leading to
to social and economic development. Education has
higher drop-out and lower enrolment rates.10 Lack of
a strong correlation with a number of development
resources, low quality of education, or poorly qualified
indicators, such as economic growth,1 child mortality,2
personnel in public education institutions may also
poverty rate,3 inequality,4 mortality rates, income
drive students who can afford it to look for private
growth,5 and access to healthcare. It shapes the
alternatives, exacerbating inequalities and undermining
values of coming generations, and can impart
equal access to education and personal development
principles such as dignity, integrity, liberty, equality,
opportunities. Corruption in higher education also
accountability and transparency which play a vital role
contributes to lower the quality of academic standards
in promoting development, social justice, human rights
and the recognition of degrees and certificates,11
and anticorruption efforts. In light of this core societal
ultimately undermining students’ qualifications and
function, it is no surprise that education accounts for
prospects for employment.12 Corruption in education
over 20 percent of total government public sector
may also open the door for a “brain-drain” at higher
expenditure in many countries of the world.6
levels of education, forcing education professionals
Corruption in the education sector is a major obstacle to leave an institution, region or country in order to
to realising the universal right to education and to better their income, improve their working conditions or
achieving SDG 4. Yet corruption in the education increase their professional development opportunities.
sector is widespread in many countries of the world. In turn, this “brain-drain” may erode further the quality
41 percent of people globally think that the education and quantity of education services.
sector in their country is corrupt or extremely
Corruption in the education sector does not only harm
corrupt.7 Moreover, corruption in the education sector
teachers and students, but the communities and
undermines one of the major aims of education, which
societies they live in too. As the sector responsible for
is to transmit ethical values and behaviours: how to
training future leaders and professionals, corruption in
teach values in an environment that is corrupt itself?8
education has far reaching consequences on social
Corruption undermines the quality and availability of and economic development, resulting in poorly trained
education services by distorting access to education. doctors, judges or engineers or underqualified leaders
It disproportionally affects the poor, rendering running the economy. Corrupt education systems
disadvantaged children reliant on sub-standard produce lower quality, less qualified employees and
education services where little learning can take place. raises the costs (due to competition) of attracting and
It has a detrimental effect on virtually all aspects of retaining skilled workers.13 Corruption in education
education, from school infrastructure, to teacher can also stifle creativity and innovation in businesses,
salaries and academic curricula. Resources pilfered affecting firm growth.14 In higher education, undue
from education means scarcity of learning and research influence from government and private sector not
equipment, poor quality school facilities, the hiring of only undermines academic freedom, but can also
fewer and/or underpaid teachers, larger class sizes, skew research agendas and damage the credibility of
and increased workload for teachers. Corruption academic research findings.
therefore increases the cost of education and while
leading to lower academic standards, resulting in

02 Transparency International
KEY ISSUES AND CHALLENGES

Forms of corruption in education Second, the large sums allocated to the education
sector (which represents in most countries the first
or second largest sector in terms of public budget20)
While corruption in education is widespread in many
combined with often weak oversight structures make
countries of the world, education sector corruption
it a tempting target for those looking to commit
diagnostics are often inadequate, and more resources
fraudulent activity.21
would need to be allocated to measure the scope and
scale of corruption in this sector.15 As such, while corruption is more visible at the point
of service where teachers, professors and students
Corruption risks in education are the result of two
interact, it can take many forms in the education sector
particular characteristics of the sector.
and occurs at all stages of the service delivery chain,
Firstly, the stakes at play in educational attainment from school planning and management, to student
can be very high. The “opportunity cost” involved in admissions and examinations, to academic research
failed exams or acceptance to prestigious schools, as well as to teachers’ management and professional
which potentially bestow enormous future benefits to conduct. There are particular areas of concerns at the
successful students, mean that some are prepared policy formulation stage, as well as the management
to compromise on integrity. TI Vietnam found that a of organisational resources and the service delivery
striking 38% of young people surveyed stated they phases, as illustrated in the diagram below:22
would be prepared to pay a bribe to get into a good
school, while 16% would be ready to bribe their
teacher in order to pass an exam.16

BOX 4: MASSIVE CHEATING

INCIDENCE IN BIHAR, INDIA
This willingness provides the supply side of
corruption and can generate petty bribery of
staggering proportions, such as in the northern
Indian state of Bihar where there exists a highly
organised, well-known and widely accepted
system by which teachers, administrators,
students, parents and middlemen collude to rig
examinations on a massive scale.17 As a rigged
paper costs around US $600, the system further
disadvantages those unable to afford to cheat.
After footage emerged of family members scaling
the walls of the examination hall to hand cheat
sheets to students inside, the authorities launched
a crackdown.18 Revealingly, pass rates for these
examinations immediately plummeted from around
75% to 50%.19

Corruption in education services 03

Figure 2: Analysis of corruption along the education sector value chain

POLICY MAKING
Political influence in definition of educational policy, priorities;
bribes and political considerations in school district mapping,
school locations, accreditation systems for educational
professionals, etc.

ORGANISATIONAL RESOURCES
PERSONNEL PROCUREMENT
Ghost teachers; extortion of a share of salaries; favortism and nepotism in
selecting ministry, department and facility level staff; selling and buying of Bribes to influence
positions and promotions (vertical corruption); bribes, extortion, collusion, procurement process
nepotism in the licensing and authorizations for teaching staff and including tender
administrators; absenteeism and use of publicly paid time for private tutoring; specifications; collusion
bribes to enter teaching school and pass grades; nepotism, favouritism, bribes among contractors; bribes,
in selection of training collusion and political
considerations to influence
BUDGET the specifications of bids
Political influence and bribes in resource allocation; budget leakages, and the tender process.
embezzlement and fraud in transfer of budgets: diversion of public into
private accounts; embezzlement of funds raised by local NGOs and parent
organizations
SUPPLIES/GOODS
Sub-standard educational material purchased; school property used
for commercial purposes

SERVICE DELIVERY/CLIENT INTERFACE

Informal payments required/extorted from students and parents,
including sexual extortion, stealing and reselling of books and supplies;
bribes and payoffs for school entrances, exams, scholarships;
examination results only released upon payment, exam questions
sold in advance

Source: Transparency International. 2017.

Monitoring corruption and anti-corruption
in the SDGs: a resource guide

04 Transparency International
POLICY FORMULATION ORGANISATIONAL RESOURCES
At the policy stage, undue influence by interest groups The management of organisational resources, such
can skew the allocation of resources and the formulation as personnel, goods, supplies and budgets, is another
of laws and regulations, leading to administrative bribery, area of vulnerability of a sector characterised by large
political corruption and policy capture. flows of money, specialised equipment and complex
organisational structures. When combined with policy
An interesting consideration is how undue influence
capture, mismanagement of resources can lead to
can affect the development of curricula which specify
unequal distribution patterns and the privileging of
what is to be taught and the method of instruction.
certain schools based on factors such as politicians’
Academic curricula can be captured by political parties
electoral machinations. Scholarships, free schools
seeking to present their agenda in the most positive
meals, or textbooks can also turn out to be allocated
light to influence students’ political views. Such political
on subjective grounds, due to favouritism or bribes.28
manipulation often relies on internal administrative or
economic pressures on the universities.23 Contentious Education-related procurement, such as contracts to
choices about how to teach subjects are often clearly maintain educational facilities or supply textbooks,29
affiliated with specific political parties’ agendas, as is is confronted with a number of integrity challenges.
the case when it comes to teaching history in India,24 or Officials in the procuring agency may collude with
creationism in the United States.25 applicants, contractors may defraud the agency,
embezzle funds or deliver substandard products – all
However, partisan influences can also be subtler and
of which siphons off funds intended to benefit students.
go beyond party-political agendas to encompass
The procurement of services other than teaching,
ideology in a broader sense. In recent years, for
such as cleaning and catering services or specialised
instance, economic students from around the world
education services (students with special needs or
have formed organisations such as the International
second-language education) can also be affected by
Student Initiative for Pluralism in Economics and the
overpricing, back-room dealings and bribery.
Post-Crash Economics Society.26 They contend that
university economics courses are dominated by an Administrative funds and supplies can also be diverted
“intellectual monoculture” backed by a system of state- before reaching the schools, as they are disbursed
funding which operates in a highly biased fashion in from central to local government through complex
favour of rational choice models which are at the heart multi-layered distribution channels. In the 1990s,
of free market ideology.27 a public tracking expenditure survey conducted in
Uganda revealed that schools received on average
Businesses might also want to influence curricula in
only 13 percent of the intended financial resources to
order to highlight the benefits of their business, to show
rampant corruption and mismanagement.30
opponents or competitors in a bad light, or simply
to hide facts related to their industry (for example, a Bribery, patronage and nepotism can also affect
hydrocarbon producer may want to omit topics related the hiring, training and promotion of education
to climate change in science classes). These types professionals, while school payrolls can be inflated
of corruption may have a profound effect in shaping by “ghost teachers”, providing opportunities to divert
public opinion related to important subjects that require education resources for private gain.
impartial analysis.

Corruption in education services 05

SERVICE DELIVERY/CLIENT INTERFACE Challenges for addressing
At the service delivery level, corruption often takes corruption in education
the form of bribery and extortion, whereby parents
and students are asked to make informal payments Corruption in the education sector is difficult to address
to access education services that are supposed to due to the general complexity of a country’s education
be free of charge. For those with the means, entrance system, often characterised by a complex web of
exam papers or even grades may be available for administrative layers on top of the general three tier
purchase in advance. education system. Adding to this complexity, several
countries permit a multi-tier system of education where
Interactions between teachers and students offer
public and private funds and facilities interlace with
many opportunities for bribery and gift-giving. When
different degrees of autonomy and independence.
under-resourced schooling systems inadequately
prepare children for college, parents often resort Programmes linked to the education system such as
to private tutoring to ensure that children pass school meals and transport for younger students add
the admission examination. Risks of manipulation further complexity to the education sector, multiplying
are high when the mainstream teacher provides companies, agencies and institutions involved in
supplementary tutoring after school hours in place of service delivery.
formal teaching, as they many teach only part of the
These complexities create an administrative labyrinth
curricula during regular hours to “incentivise” students
that makes monitoring and accountability mechanisms
to attend private lessons.31 Bribes or sexual favours
more difficult to implement. In addition, it is difficult
can be extorted from students in exchange for good
and sometimes contentious to assess the quality of
grades, qualifications or academic recognition by their
education systems and services. Test-scores, grade
institution or their teacher.
averages, and other academic assessments are
“Quieter” forms of malpractice by frontline providers frequently criticised over their ability to assess an
may also occur when public servants fail to deliver element as complex as “learning”.35 In addition, many
services or inputs that have been paid for by the standardised tests can be forged or results falsified in
government. The most prominent form in education order to hide actual test scores, casting doubt over
is teacher absenteeism in public schools.32 Support the trustworthiness of such approaches to assess and
staff might also extract bribes for the services they are monitor the quality of education services.
hired for (like catering or maintenance) or may favour
students and teachers disproportionately if offered a
bribe for the same services.

Corruption in higher education institutions

manifests itself in various forms, ranging from
bribery in recruitment and admissions, on-campus
accommodation and grading, nepotism and patronage
in tenured postings, political and corporate undue
influence in research, plagiarism and other editorial
misconduct in academic journals.33 Fake diplomas,
bogus certifications, online diploma and accreditation
mills, the manipulation of job placement data, and
corruption in degree recognition in cross-border
education are also common forms of corruption in the
higher education sector.34 Degree mills are institutions
that “sell” degrees or diplomas, expecting little or no
work or learning from the part of the student. Academic
fraud, ghost-authorship or plagiarism involves the
use of fraudulent documentation to obtain undue
qualification or recognition, undermining the scientific
method and scholarly dialogue, and stifling creativity
and innovation.

06 Transparency International
Corruption in education services 07
APPROACHES TO ADDRESS CORRUPTION
IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR

Given the key role that the education system plays in shaping the values of future
generations, addressing corruption in the education sector is an integral part
of fighting corruption and building peaceful, inclusive and corrupt-free societies.

Budget and expenditure monitoring

Transparent and participatory budget processes need
to be in place to monitor how resources are being BOX 5: FORMULA FUNDING,
allocated and allow public scrutiny and control over DECENTRALISATION AND
the use of education resources. Regular internal and
external audits must take place to detect and deter
CORRUPTION
fraud and corruption. Preventative measures such
as procurement guidelines, as well as transparency Formula funding of schools reduces the potential
and monitoring procedures to track the flow of funds for corruption by increasing transparency because
are instrumental to ensure that resources reach the amount each school should receive and the
their intended destination. While internal systems of basis for this is public knowledge. Decentralised
auditing are necessary, ordinary citizens to access financial management replaces the opportunity for
budget information need to access national and district large scale fraud by the few, which characterises
government budgets as well as school and university a central system, by wider opportunities for
budgets to be empowered to demand accountability. smaller scale fraud by employees at school level,
In Uganda, dissemination of information to the public especially if schools have bank accounts. The
on public expenditures helped reduce leakages in the potential for fraud in decentralised systems can be
education sector dramatically; while from 1991-95 on contained by well designed financial regulations
average only 13 percent of allocated funds reached that are adhered to, monitoring of schools’
schools, by 2001 this was around 80 percent.36 finances by a school council and the education
authority, and independent and thorough audit of
Introducing a funding formula for education finance has schools’ accounts.
also been promoted as a means to prevent corruption.
Source: Levacic and Downes http://unesdoc.unesco.
Formula funding refers to “an agreed rule for allocating
org/images/0013/001376/137631e.pdf
resources to schools that specifies the quantum
of finance that each school can spend”.37 When
accompanied by complemented by the publication of
allocations to each school - on websites and in hard
copy - in order to make budgets accessible for public
scrutiny, this is likely to enhances transparency and
reduce opportunities for corruption.

08 Transparency International
Education management Codes of conduct
information systems (EMIS) and integrity pledges
Access to accurate information on the country’s Codes of conduct based on accepted educational
education system is crucial to its management, principles, reinforced by ethical training and adequate
planning and evaluation. It is therefore important implementation mechanisms and backed by a solid
to ensure that education management information political will can help improve the sector’s integrity
systems (EMIS) are in place to collect quality standards.38 Codes of conduct can be developed at
data pertaining to schools, students, teachers, country level or also within schools and universities in
infrastructure, assets and so on. Such information consultation with all stakeholders, to provide guidance
should enable assessment of the education sector’s to educators on what behaviour is expected of them
strengths and weaknesses, its pedagogical and in the exercise of their duties. Teacher training is
institutional operations, and its performance. The data required to ensure their proper enforcement.39 In cases
collected should be made publicly accessible in a clear of alleged breaches, codes should also provide for
and simple format to allow stakeholders to use the data accessible and timely remedial action.
as part of a feedback loop, informing the formulation,
Another approach can be for school management
management and implementation of education policies.
boards, civil society groups and others to jointly adopt
Training can be provided to district- and local-level
‘integrity pledges’ between parent groups and school
administrators, school management committees and
management and/or youth groups and universities,
parent-teacher associations on how to access and use
as an effective additional means to incentivise
this for effective monitoring of the education sector.
anticorruption practices and improve the reputation
and quality of education at schools and higher
education institutions.
Management of human resources
As role models, teachers have a key role to play
in the fight against corruption, leading by example
and imparting values of integrity to their students.
Transparent and merit-based human resource
management processes for appointing, training,
promoting and compensating education personal
need to be in place to ensure that teachers are not
only adequately qualified and remunerated but also
rewarded for ethical behaviour. Transparent and
meritocratic hiring practices can help ensure that only
teachers with sufficient qualification and experience are
appointed. Adequate salaries and benefits can reduce
incentives for education personnel to resort to bribery
or other coping strategies to supplement their income.
Frequent school inspections can prevent corruption
in teacher management and behaviour. Effective
disciplinary policies and consistent and dissuasive
administrative and/or criminal sanctions need to be in
place and enforced in the event of wrongdoing.

Corruption in education services 09

Quality control mechanisms Society for example, produced a ranking that took into
account transparency, academic integrity and
enforcement of rules and contributed to improve
Quality control mechanisms involving bottom-up
procurement transparency. The Academic Society – a
and top-down approaches are also important and
Bucharest based think tank and NGO worked actively
complementary tools to address corruption in education.
with universities to help them improve their rankings.40
Bottom-up approaches usually involve students,
teachers, parents and communities in monitoring the
quality of education services against a set of national
or regional standards (for example, structurally sound Complaints mechanism and
schools, availability of textbooks for students, teacher whistleblowing protection
attendance) to identify problematic institutions or
aggregate the sector’s areas of weaknesses. The use of
Confidential and safe complaint channels should
citizen report cards or crowd sourcing platforms to data
be in place to report suspected corruption without
that can be used to inform advocacy campaigns and
fear of retaliation and discrimination. Whistleblower
government efforts can be very fruitful, as in the case of
protection should cover the education sector,
the Check Your School initiative.
including legal protection, disclosure channels and
follow-up mechanisms for education professionals
and students at all levels of government (including
central, district and local) as well as in schools and
higher education institutions.
BOX 6: USING TECHNOLOGY
TO ADDRESS TEACHERS’
ABSENTEEISM IN INDIA Parent-led initiatives
Technology has proved effective in monitoring the Parents can also play an important role in reducing
provision of education services and addressing corruption in the education system. Many parents rely
teachers’ absenteeism in India. In an experiment on schools not only to educate their children but also
conducted in a rural district in the state of as caretakers for their children and, in some cases, to
Rajasthan, India, where the absentee rate was provide meals during the day. As they have important
44 per cent, teachers’ attendance was monitored incentives to contribute to quality education services,
with cameras, while their salaries were linked to parental participation and oversight at the school level
their attendance. Absenteeism declined by a fifth can greatly contribute to fighting school corruption.
compared to a control group and the pupils’ test
scores went up. The cost of the programme was Parent-led anticorruption actions may range from
US$6 per child per year. complaint or suggestion boxes directed at principals,
superintendents or ministers, to regular parent-teacher
Source: From the Global Corruption Report: Education meetings, or disseminating information about the
student rights to the wider community. For example,
Guatemalan communities had significant problems with
Top-down approaches to quality control includes teacher absenteeism, leading to a decrease in school
commissions or school boards responsible for attendance. Community bulletin boards were used
overseeing academic quality and ethics. These bodies to provide parents with an outlet to complain about
can be either established by governments or by service teacher absences, lack of resources and instances
providers themselves. Governance rankings of of corruption. These would become especially relevant
educational institutions can be used as a means to during education inspector visits since most parents
promote greater transparency and incentivise good had to work and could not attend meetings during
governance of education institutions. Such governance working hours.
rankings can be integrated as a dimension of centrally
established university rankings such as standard
university league tables. The Romanian Academic

10 Transparency International
RESOURCES ON CORRUPTION IN EDUCATION

BACKGROUND STUDIES Transparency International. 2013.

Global Corruption Report: Education.
Caveat: From the literature review conducted
to compile this topic guide, there are few recent http://www.transparency.org/whatwedo/publication/
background studies on corruption in the education global_corruption_report_education
sector. Most papers and studies have been
The Global Corruption report provides an in depth
conducted before 2010.
look at corruption issues surrounding education. This
Muriel Poisson (Ed). 2014. Achieving transparency report provides a comprehensive assessment of the
in pro-poor education incentives. Series: Ethics current context in which corruption in the education
and corruption in education. Paris: IIEP-UNESCO. sector is situated and the conditions that determine
the effectiveness of anti-corruption efforts. The report
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/ is structured to follow the evolution of an education
images/0022/002269/226982E.pdf system. It begins with an overview of relevant norms,
What are the best ways to ensure that scholarships, legal and regulatory frameworks, and presents key
conditional cash transfers, free school meals, and stakeholders that collectively shape education systems.
so on, actually reach their intended beneficiaries? It then assesses corruption risks at the source of
This book assumes that different models of design, financing education, and follows a chronology of the
targeting, and management of pro-poor incentives can construction and supply of goods, staff appointment
prove more or less successful in maximizing efficiency, and retention, access to education, school
transparency, and accountability, and in minimizing management and corruption in the classroom. Then
the likelihood of errors, fraud, and corrupt practices. the report looks at how corruption can undermine each
Comparing the cases of seven projects implemented stage of the higher education experience. The report
worldwide, it demonstrates that some models presents established diagnostic tools for measuring
may pose greater challenges to transparency and corruption in education and tailored approaches for
accountability than others (namely, targeted, in-kind, dealing with specific forms of corruption, including, for
locally managed, or community-based). At the same example, the value of university governance rankings,
time, these models may be the most adequate for public expenditure tracking, teacher codes of conduct,
local needs, especially if there are budget constraints, new incentives for parent participation in school
a vast and diverse territory, or demand for food at management, human rights-based approaches, legal
school. The authors argue that deliberate actions redress mechanisms, and the use of new media.
taken to confront related corruption risks, such as
simplified targeting, legal definition of responsibilities,
local transparency committees, school display boards,
appeals mechanisms, informal whistleblowing, and
social audits, among others, are of greater importance
than the adopted incentive model. They conclude
by highlighting the value of “mutual accountability
systems”, where all actors are mutually accountable
and subject to checks and balances.

Corruption in education services 11

Muriel Poisson. 2010. Corruption and education. Victoria Turrent. 2009. Confronting corruption
Education Policy Series. IIEP. International Academy in education: Advancing accountable practices
of Education. through budget monitoring. U4 Brief.

http://unesdoc.unesco.org/ http://www.u4.no/publications/confronting-corruption-
images/0019/001902/190247E.pdf in-education-advancing-accountable-practices-
through-budget-monitoring/
This booklet provides an overview of corruption
challenges in the education sector and suggests how to Education budget work conducted by civil society is a
improve transparency and accountability in educational powerful way of holding governments accountable to
planning and management covering areas such as their citizens, and drawing attention to corruption in the
financing, public procurement, teacher management, education system. This brief discusses the relevance of
and examinations. It identifies specific challenges facing civil society budget work for anticorruption initiatives,
the education sector, such as the decentralisation of focusing on the experience of the Commonwealth
educational funding and management, the growing Education Fund, in which budget monitoring is
competition among both students and schools, and the employed as an anticorruption tool in the education
boom in new technologies. The study reviews several sector. It presents its strengths and limitations - arguing
tools to assess corrupt practices within the education for increased access to budget information and greater
sector, such as public expenditure tracking surveys, civil society participation in such processes.
quantitative service delivery surveys, and report cards.
It argues that addressing corruption challenges in the
education sector requires concerted action on three Leo Hamminger. 2008. The power of data:
mains fronts: developing transparent regulation systems enhancing transparency in the education sector
and standards, building management capacity, and in Sierra Leone. U4 Brief.
promoting greater ownership of administrative and
financial processes. Anticorruption efforts can also http://www.u4.no/publications/the-power-of-data-
involve adopting codes of conduct, strengthening enhancing-transparency-in-the-education-sector-in-
institutional capacities in some key areas such as sierra-leone/
management, accounting or audit, promoting the right to This case study explores the introduction of an
information of users and, more broadly, displaying strong Education Management Information System (EMIS) in
political will at all levels of the system. Sierra Leone, as a tool to highlight malpractices related
to anything from local record keeping, teacher salaries,
World Bank 2010. Silent and lethal: How quiet building new schools, and educational indicators. After
corruption affects Africa’s development efforts outlining the potential benefits of EMIS, it describes
the process and challenges of introducing such a tool
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/AFRICAEXT/
in a post-conflict setting. It concludes that return on
Resources/english_essay_adi2010.pdfhOW
investment of such system is excellent. If linked with an
The 2010 Africa Development Indicators essay sheds intervention for a sustained improvement of the school
light on a different type of corruption, referred to inspectorate, it could result in large savings due to
by the authors as “quiet corruption”, by which they better use of resources and more efficient distribution
mean instances where public servants fail to deliver of textbooks and teaching and learning materials.
services or inputs that have been paid for by the However, to ensure the success of the initiative in the
government. Examples of such forms of corruption longer term, the Ministry of Education need to take full
include teachers’ absenteeism in public schools and ownership after the initial donor supported phase.
absentee doctors in primary clinics. The report looks
at the impact of such forms of corruption in the long
term on the well-being and education levels of citizens,
including direct consequences such as the reduced
productivity potential of households, firms, and farms,
and the indirect consequences, such as distrust of
public institutions frontline providers. Tackling quiet
corruption is posited to require a combination of strong
and committed leadership, policies, and institutions at
the sectoral level, and — most important — increased
accountability and participation by citizens, the demand
side of good governance.

12 Transparency International
Stephen P. Heyneman, Kathryn H. Anderson and U4 Anticorruption Resource Centre. 2006.
Nazyn Nuraliyeva. 2008. The Cost of Corruption in Corruption in the Education Sector.
Higher Education.
http://www.cmi.no/publications/file/2563-corruption-in-
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/peabody/heyneman/ the-education-sector.pdf
PUBLICATIONS/Heyneman.2008.CostsofCorruption.pdf
This article provides a comprehensive while synthetic
This article looks at the manifestations and effects overview of corruption in the education sector. The U4
of corruption in higher education (tertiary education). Paper begins by providing a description of education
This article assesses the extent of higher-education sector corruption, its causes, its effects and how it can
corruption based on surveys of university students be tackled. The paper then goes more into depth into
in six countries—the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, salaries, corruption in education sector procuremen,
Croatia, Moldova, Serbia, and Bulgaria. These surveys budget transparency and formula funding - an agreed
suggest that corruption ( in the form of bribes for entry, rule for allocating resources to schools specifying the
grades, or graduation, etc) varies in accordance with quantum of finance that each school can spend. The
the market demand for the subject of study, with higher article ends with a literature review, which outlines the
levels of corruption found for the subjects in highest most important academic works on corruption and
demand (eg: law, economics, finance, and criminology). anticorruption in the education sector until 2006.
Also, corruption is more likely to be found in local
universities with local professional codes of conduct Ritva Reinikka and Jakob Svensson 2004.
and less likely to be found in universities accredited in The Power of Information: Evidence from
Europe or North America. a Newspaper Campaign to Reduce Capture

http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/
Jacques Hallak and Muriel Poisson. Corrupt
en/883011468777296898/pdf/WPS3239.pdf
schools, corrupt universities: What can be done?
Series: Ethics and corruption. Paris: UNESCO Press. This paper evaluates the effects of increased public
access to information as a tool to reduce capture
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/
and corruption of public funds. In the late 1990s, the
images/0015/001502/150259e.pdf
Ugandan government initiated a newspaper campaign
This book presents conclusions drawn from IIEP’s to boost schools’ and parents’ ability to monitor local
research into ethics and corruption in education. It officials’ handling of a large school-grant programme.
aims to build awareness among decision-makers The results were striking: capture was reduced from
and education managers of the importance of 80 percent in 1995 to less than 20 percent in 2001.
combating corruption, to provide them with tools to The authors find that proximity to a newspaper outlet is
detect and assess corruption problems, and to guide positively correlated with the head teachers’ knowledge
them in formulating strategies to curb malpractices. about rules governing the grant programme and the
After defining the key concepts of corruption, timing of releases of funds from the centre.
transparency, accountability and ethics, it identifies
the main opportunities for corruption in education. It David Chapman. 2002. Corruption and the
describes tools that can be used to assess corruption Education Sector (Washington D.C.: USAID, 2002)
problems – such as perception and tracking surveys.
Lessons are drawn from strategies used worldwide to http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/Pnact874.pdf
improve transparency and accountabilityin educational
This paper discusses the factors fuelling corruption
management. The authors bring these together in a list
in national education systems. It describes the forms
of recommendations for policy-makers and educational
that corruption takes within the education sector, and
managers. They argue that transparent regulatory
interventions that have been suggested for reducing
systems, greater accountability through strengthened
corruption. The author argues that “petty” or small-
management capacity, and enhanced ownership of the
scale corruption is more common that “grand” or
management process can help build corruption-free
large-scale corruption in the education sector, and
education systems.
emphasises specific vulnerabilities at the point of
service delivery. The author argues that bribery,
favouritism and fraud over merit can have profound
effects on societies in the long-term. The article details
the challenges pending for donors seeking to invest
in education and provides a series of examples of
anticorruption efforts in education.

Corruption in education services 13

Sanjeev Gupta, Hamid Davoodi, and Erwin UNESCO/OECD Guidelines for Quality Provision
Tiongson. 2000. Corruption and the provision of in Cross-Border Higher Education
healthcare and education services.
http://www.oecd.org/edu/skills-beyond-
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2000/ school/35779480.pdf
wp00116.pdf
Cross border higher education broadly refers to the
This article reviews the theoretical models and users’ movement of people, knowledge, programs, providers
perceptions of corruption in the provision of public and curriculum across national or regional jurisdictional
services and analyses the impact of corruption on borders, offering students/learners new opportunities,
those services in terms of cost of services and human increased access to higher education, improvement
development outcomes. Using cross country data of international co-operation and innovations in higher
sets, the authors find that corruption has adverse education systems. These guidelines were established
consequences for a country’s child and infant mortality to enhance the quality provision in cross-border
rates, percent of low-birthweight babies in total births, higher education and to establish an international
and dropout rates in primary schools. The authors framework of cooperation to maintain and assure
conclude by examining the implications of their results quality in higher education. The guidelines are directed
for social policy formulation. towards both governments (through their respective
education ministries) and to institutions dedicated
to tertiary education. The guidelines aim to establish
STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES a transparent and fair system of internationally
recognised accreditation and create a space for
Corruption in the education sector is presented by
international cooperation for improving education and
many education advocates as a direct failure to uphold
establish a framework for cooperation in addressing
International Law, as international conventions like the
issues like certification/qualification fraud linked to
Universal Declaration for Human Rights, the Convention
higher education.
on the Rights of the Child and International Covenant
on Economic and Social and Cultural Rights uphold
the human right to free, compulsory and egalitarian IIEP/CHEA Advisory statement for effective
primary education. This rights-based approach to international practice. Combatting corruption and
viewing corruption in the education sector is by no enhancing integrity: A contempory challenge for
means a standard or guideline to addressing corruption the quality and credibility of higher education
in the education sector, but provides the basis for http://unesdoc.unesco.org/
international commitments and standards. images/0024/002494/249460E.pdf

UNESCO Commitments: Education for All This advisory statement is a call to action that
highlights the problems posed by academic corruption
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/ in higher education and suggests ways that quality
leading-the-international-agenda/education-for-all/ assurance bodies, government and higher education
institutions around the world can combat corruption.
The Education For All movement started in 1990
It notes that although effective quality assurance is a
as a coalition of 164 governments worldwide who
central element in addressing academic corruption,
have pledged to address the deficiencies of primary
it cannot do the job alone. Corruption affecting
education systems worldwide by identifying 6 goals
the integrity of universities’ academic operations
and developing a framework to address the goals.
occurs both upstream (at the government level)
The framework, labelled the Dakar Framework for
and downstream (at all levels in higher education
Action, identifies corruption as a major obstacle
institutions) from the work of quality assurance
to improving education and recommends that
bodies. “Action on a broad front is needed to attack
governments in the coalition take strong action to
the problem,” the advisory statement concludes.
detect and address corruption in primary education.
The commitments within the Framework are monitored
through the UNESCO Institute for Statistics which
releases annual reports on the successes and failures
in meeting commitments.

14 Transparency International
PRACTICAL INSIGHTS: HANDBOOKS Poisson, Muriel. 2009. Guidelines for the design
AND TOOLKITS and effective use of teacher codes of conduct.
Series: Ethics and corruption in education. Paris:
Education Development Centre. 2012. IIEP-UNESCO.
Addressing Corruption in Education: A Toolkit
for Youth from Youth http://unesdoc.unesco.org/
images/0018/001850/185010e.pdf
https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/library/
addressing-corruption-education-toolkit-youth-youth These guidelines have been prepared to help countries
successfully design a teacher code of conduct (or
Part of a bigger USAID funded programme on review an existing one) and put in place the appropriate
transparency in the education sector, this toolkit was mechanisms to ensure its proper dissemination,
developed “by youth for youth” with the objective of application, and monitoring at all levels of the system.
providing guidelines for increasing transparency in They are aimed both at national and local stakeholders.
education. The toolkit addresses the nature and scope They follow the major steps involved in the development
of corruption in education before delving into concrete of a code. For more detailed information on each aspect
strategies for promoting transparency. The toolkit of the guidelines, the reader is directed to the Resources
advocates for the Transparent Education Network and Tools which are included in annexes.
(TEN) – an association of individuals and organisations
from the Europe & Eurasia region – framework for
GIZ. 2004. Preventing Corruption in the Education
community development projects which involves,
System: A Practical Guide
first, a community-led diagnostic assessment of the
problems; second, awareness raising activities aimed http://www.u4.no/recommended-reading/preventing-
at the community; third, alliance building with regional, corruption-in-the-education-system/
national and international actors; and finally, the
This practical guide is targeted at those responsible for
development of integrity packs and codes of conduct.
development cooperation projects in education. It aims
The toolkit outlines each step, establishing clear
to promote reform in the education sector by providing
objectives, providing detailed descriptions and a wide
ideas and indicating ways to integrate corruption-
use of examples.
prevention components appropriately into education
projects. The guide is built around the identification
UNDP. 2011. Fighting Corruption in the Education of integrity vulnerabilities in terms of 1) personnel, 2)
Sector: Methods, Tools and Good Practices the finance and procurement system in educational
http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/ institutions, 3) access to educational institutions, and 4)
Democratic%20Governance/IP/Anticorruption%20 quality and quantity of education. The guide proceeds
Methods%20and%20Tools%20in%20Education%20 to point out measures to prevent corruption for each
Lo%20Res.pdf of these areas, ranging from personnel training and
contracting to procurement of resources and university
This 2011 report by the UNDP is a comprehensive management. The guide offers a comprehensive
guide to addressing corruption in the education look at anticorruption mechanisms and strategies
sector. The article focuses on measures in three broad directly addressed at each of these sectors as well
categories: legal and integrity mechanisms, public as overarching guidelines directed at the broader
and education sector reform and transparency and education system.
accountability measures. The paper examines major
trends in these categories and methodically assesses
the effectiveness of these in general and specific ASSESSMENT TOOLS AND DATABASES
situations. The authors reach two key findings that
serve as practical advice for practitioners: the first The World Bank and OECD databases on economic
is that education sector corruption diagnostics are development feature numerous indicators related
inadequate, and more needs to be done to measure to education, including enrolment and investment
the scope of corruption in this sector. The second in education. These, however, do not provide
finding is that the complexity of education systems comprehensive data specifically on corruption in
makes one-size-fit-all solutions a pipe-dream. The the education sector. Transparency International’s
authors recommend analysing the local circumstances Global Corruption Barometer identifies corruption
carefully before applying corrective mechanisms. perception trends worldwide for education services
and professionals.

Corruption in education services 15

Transparency International. 2017. Monitoring Centre for International Higher Education:
corruption and anticorruption in the SDGs: A Higher Education Corruption Monitor
resource guide
http://www.bc.edu/research/cihe/
http://www.transparency.org/whatwedo/publication/
The Higher Education Corruption Monitor is a
monitoring_corruption_and_anti_corruption_in_the_
knowledge depository set up by the CIHE to
sustainable_development_go
monitor news articles related to higher education
As part of its follow-up and review mechanisms for corruption in English-language news outlets around
the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals the world. It features a search engine to filter these
(SDGs), member states are encouraged to conduct articles, categorizing them into three categories: (1)
regular national reviews of progress made towards general corruption, (2) corruption in examination and
the achievement of these goals through an inclusive, admissions, and (3) degree fraud.
voluntary and country-led process. This guide is
intended to explain the role of civil society organisations Council for Higher Education Accreditation. 2013.
in monitoring corruption in the SDGs, as well as how Important Questions about Accreditation, Degree
to identify potential indicators and data sources for Mills and Accreditation Mills
this purpose. Throughout the guide, there are country
examples of indicator selection, inclusive follow-up http://www.chea.org/degreemills/default.htm
review processes and approaches to corruption
The CHEA is a U.S.-based institution which aims to
monitoring. A chapter is dedicated to mainstreaming
educate citizens and public officials about accreditation
anticorruption in monitoring SDG 4.
fraud and seeks to advocate for stronger legislation
regarding the issue. The CHEA has produced a number
International Institute for Education Planning. of documents related to accreditation fraud including
ETICO resource platform on ethics and corruption this web-entry which provides information about
in education accreditation fraud. The webpage provides a tool to
assess whether an institution is a degree/accreditation
http://etico.iiep.unesco.org/
mill. The webpage also includes a link to a database of
This is a web-based resource platform focused on recognised U.S. accrediting institutions.
issues surrounding ethics and corruption in education.
The platformprovides easy access to IIEP’s research
and training materials. It also features more than 640 RESOURCES FROM THE
references on publications, projects, policies, and ANTICORRUPTION HELPDESK
norms; thematic pages on key issues in the area of
Sofia Wickberg. 2013. Literature review
ethics and corruption in education; a glossary with
on corruption in higher education.
definitions of the most important terms used in the
fight against corruption in education; a blog that offers Available on request at: [email protected]
the global anti-corruption community a space to
publish new ideas and discuss them; a media library; Corruption in higher education is a universal problem
and a selection of over 1,000 newspaper articles on that takes various forms across regions, countries
corruption in education issues from all over the world and institutions. Corruption in this sector can be
going back to 2001. found both at the systemic (fraud, undue influence,
false accreditations etc.) and individual (academic
misbehaviour, plagiarism, cheating etc.) levels.
Corruption in higher education has significant social
and economic consequences because of the crucial
role that universities play in societies, both as a neutral
point of reference and as a “future-leader maker”.
Corruption undermines the integrity and the quality
of academic research and diverts higher education
from its fundamental goals. This paper provides a
non-exhaustive list of relevant readings on the various
corruption challenges in higher education

16 Transparency International
Marie Chene. 2012. Fighting corruption Marie Chene. 2009. Gender, corruption
in education in fragile states. and education.

https://www.transparency.org/whatwedo/answer/ http://www.u4.no/publications/gender-corruption-and-
fighting_corruption_in_education_in_fragile_states education/

Fighting corruption in education has the potential to There are few governance indicators that systematically
mitigate some of the root causes of fragility and restore capture the gender dimension of corruption in
citizens’ trust in the government’s capacity to deliver education. However, there is a growing consensus
public services. Corruption can occur at all stages that corruption undermines the quality and quantity of
of the education service delivery chain, from school public services, and reduces the resources available
planning and management, to student admissions and for the poor and women, ultimately exacerbating social
examinations as well as to teacher management and and gender disparities. Corruption hits disadvantaged
professional conduct. These risks can be exacerbated groups – including women – harder, as they rely more
in fragile settings, which are often characterised by on state infrastructure, have fewer resources to make
weak governance structures, limited infrastructures, informal payments to access education services
inadequate political leadership and reduced human, and less recourse to legal protection. Women are
organisational and institutional capacity of government. also more vulnerable to specific forms of corruption
There is still relatively little evidence of what comprises such as sexual extortion in exchange for schooling,
good practice on how to fight corruption in fragile good grades and other school privileges. There is no
states, including as it relates to the education sector. empirical evidence available on the long term impact
Recommendations typically include the establishment of corruption on gender disparities in the education
of transparent regulations and procedures, reforms of sector. However, there is a general consensus that
the procurement and public finance management (PFM) such practices have long term consequences on
system, transparent teacher management systems, women’s education outcomes, psychological and
the introduction of codes of conduct for educational physical health as well as gender equity, ultimately
staff, robust information systems in the area of teacher affecting long term social and economic progress.
registration and management, examination and access
to university. Social accountability initiatives also have
potential and may be the most viable option in some SELECTED ACTORS AND STAKEHOLDERS
challenging environments.
UNESCO

http://www.unesco.org/new/es

UNESCO is the UN Agency responsible for topics in

education. The agency is an advocate for free and
accessible primary education, and has worked under
this mandate on several anticorruption projects in
education particularly through its specialized institute
IIEP (see below). UNESCO has several programmes
and documents related to education governance
and accountability.

Corruption in education services 17

UNESCO International Institute for Education Open Society Institute
Planning (IIEP)
https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/
http://www.iiep.unesco.org/en/our-mission/ethics-and-
The Open Society Institute has two operative areas,
corruption
one on Education and Youth, another on Governance
A capacity building institute within UNESCO, the and Accountability, which frequently overlap to produce
IIEP runs the Ethics and Corruption in Education research and to fund projects related to education
Programme, which is aimed at reshaping educational system integrity. Their website has access to national
planning by taking into account transparency and case studies in Northern Africa and South-eastern
accountability concerns. As part of its Ethics and Europe, as well as several documents dealing directly
Corruption in Education Programme, IIEP has with transparency and accountability in the education
published more than 15 books on issues such as sector. The have worked with local anticorruption
reducing corruption in fund allocation to schools, advocates like Anticorruption Student Network in South
transparency in teacher management, adverse effects East Europe (ACSN SEE) and experts on these matters
of private tutoring, academic and accreditation fraud to add to their research.
among others. It trained more than 2,200 people on
transparency, accountability, and anti-corruption issues Anticorruption Student Network in South
in the education sector. Finally, it provides support East Europe
to countries that are in the process of conducting
an integrity assessment of their education sector, of http://www.bos.rs/cde-eng/implemented-
launching a public expenditure tracking surveys(PETS), projects/309/2013/10/15/anticorruption-student-
or of designing a teacher code of conduct. The Institute network-in-south-east-europe.html
manages the ETICO online resource platform.
Beginning in 2006, this coalition of students and higher
education institutions in South Europe was formed
Education International to provide a collaborative space to identify corruption
problems in higher education and to give students tools
http://www.ei-ie.org/en/websections/content_
and formal avenues through which to identify and fight
detail/3247
against corruption. The coalition has produced some
Education International is a federation of education research related to these topics and currently translating
workers’ unions and individual teachers which them into English. The coalition is made up of actors for
promotes equity and quality in education, both for Serbia, Macedonia, Croatia, Bulgaria, and Moldova.
students and for teachers. The federation is an
advocate for good governance in regards to education
and has frequently spoken out against mismanagement
of funds destined for education, corruption in
procurement and corruption at point-of-service in
education systems.

18 Transparency International
Corruption in education services 19
END NOTES

1. Hanushek & Wossman, 2007. The role of education quality 12. Council for Higher Education Accreditation, 2013.
for economic growth. https://ideas.repec.org/p/wbk/ Important Questions about Accreditation, Degree Mills and
wbrwps/4122.html Accreditation Mills. https://vn.usembassy.gov/education-
culture/educationusa/accreditation-resources/mills/
2. Chapman, 2002. Corruption and the education sector.
http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNACT874.pdf 13. Bó & Rossi, 2007. Corruption and inefficiency: Theory
and evidence from electric utilities http://eml.berkeley.
3. Heyneman, 2008. The Cost of Corruption in Higher edu/~webfac/bardhan/e271_f06/bo.pdf
Education. http://www.vanderbilt.edu/peabody/heyneman/
PUBLICATIONS/Heyneman.2008.CostsofCorruption.pdf 14. Starosta de Waldemar 2010. New Products and
Corruption: Evidence from Indian Firms. http://econpapers.
4. Osipian, 2008. Corruption in Higher Education: Does repec.org/paper/halcesptp/halshs-00595048.htm
it differ across the nations and why? https://www.
researchgate.net/publication/228618433_Corruption_in_ 15. UNDP. 2011. Fighting Corruption in the Education Sector:
Higher_Education_Does_it_Differ_across_the_Nations_ Methods, Tools and Good Practices. http://www.undp.org/
and_Why content/dam/undp/library/Democratic%20Governance/IP/
Anticorruption%20Methods%20and%20Tools%20in%20
5. Jamison, Jamison, & Hanushek, 2006. The effects of Education%20Lo%20Res.pdf
education quality on income growth and mortality decline
http://www.nber.org/papers/w12652 16. Towards Transparency Vietnam 2011. Youth integrity in
Vietnam: piloting Transparency International youth integrity
6. Transparency International 2013. Global Corruption Report: surveys. https://towardstransparency.vn/wp-content/
education. https://www.transparency.org/gcr_education uploads/2014/07/YIS-2011-Summary_FINAL_EN.pdf
7. http://www.transparency.org/gcb2013/in_detail/ 17. BBC 2014. The students who feel they have the right to
8. Hallak & Poisson. 2007. Corrupt schools, corrupt cheat http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29950843
universities: What can be done? http://unesdoc.unesco. 18. BBC 2015 India students caught ‘cheating’ in exams
org/images/0015/001502/150259e.pdf in Bihar http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-
9. Chene, 2014, p. 7. The impact of corruption on growth india-31960557
and inequality. https://www.transparency.org/whatwedo/ 19. BBC 2016 Why cracking down on cheating in India’s Bihar
answer/the_impact_of_corruption_on_growth_and_ state is tough http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-
inequality india-36431885
10. Suryadarma 2012 . How Corruption Diminishes 20. Hallak & Poisson. 2007. Corrupt schools, corrupt
the Effectiveness of Public Spending on Education universities: What can be done? http://unesdoc.unesco.
in Indonesia. https://www.researchgate.net/ org/images/0015/001502/150259e.pdf
publication/254231326_How_Corruption_Diminishes_
the_Effectiveness_of_Public_Spending_on_Education_in_ 21. Transparency International 2013. Global Corruption report:
Indonesia Education. https://www.transparency.org/gcr_education

11. Transparency International 2013. Global corruption report: 22. Transparency International 2017 Monitoring corruption
education https://www.transparency.org/gcr_education; and anticorruption in the SDGs: A resource guide. https://
Gupta, Davoodi, & Tiongson, 2001. Corruption and the www.transparency.org/whatwedo/publication/monitoring_
provision of health care and education services. http:// corruption_and_anti_corruption_in_the_sustainable_
www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2000/wp00116.pdf development_go

23. Chapman 2002. Corruption and the education sector

http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNACT874.pdf

24. Ruhee Neog 2013 Writing history: school textbooks in

India https://southasianvoices.org/writing-history-school-
textbooks-in-india/

20 Transparency International
25. The Independent 2017 US states consider laws allowing 37. U4 Anticorruption Resource Centre. 2006. Corruption in
creationism to be taught by science teachers http://www. the Education Sector. http://www.cmi.no/publications/
independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-states- file/2563-corruption-in-the-education-sector.pdf
texas-creationism-science-teacher-state-law-evolution-
religion-a7632931.html 38. Deininger & Mpuga, 2005. Does Greater Accountability
Improve the Quality of Public Service Delivery?
26. Financial Times 2014 Angry economic students are naïve Evidence from Uganda https://www.researchgate.net/
and mostly right https://www.ft.com/content/23da4f1e- publication/23722906_Does_Greater_Accountability_
df48-11e3-86a4-00144feabdc0 Improve_the_Quality_of_Public_Service_Delivery_
Evidence_from_Uganda91. Poisson. 2009.
27. The Guardian 2013 Economics students aim to tear Guidelines for the design and effective use of teacher
up free-market syllabus https://www.theguardian.com/ codes of conduct http://unesdoc.unesco.org/
business/2013/oct/24/students-post-crash-economics images/0018/001850/185010e.pdf
The Guaridan 2013 Academics back students in protests
against economics teaching https://www.theguardian.com/ 39. Transparency International 2013. Global Corruption Report:
education/2013/nov/18/academics-back-student-protests- Education http://www.transparency.org/whatwedo/
neoclassical-economics-teaching publication/global_corruption_report_education

28. Poisson (Ed). 2014. Achieving transparency in pro- 40. Transparency International 2013. Global Corruption Report:
poor education incentives. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/ Education . http://www.transparency.org/whatwedo/
images/0022/002269/226982E.pdf publication/global_corruption_report_education

29. Leguéré. 2003. Approvisionnement en livres scolaires.

Vers plus de transparence. Afrique francophone. http://
unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001362/136266f.pdf

30. Ritva Reinikka and Jakob Svensson 2004 Local capture:

evidence from a central government transfer programme
in Uganda http://www1.worldbank.org/publicsector/
anticorrupt/FlagshipCourse2003/ReinikkaSvensson.pdf

31. Bray. 2003. Adverse effects of private supplementary

tutoring: dimensions, implications and government
responses http://unesdoc.unesco.org/
images/0013/001330/133039e.pdf

32. World Bank 2010. Silent and lethal: How quiet corruption
affects Africa’s development efforts http://siteresources.
worldbank.org/AFRICAEXT/Resources/english_essay_
adi2010.pdf

33. Transparency International 2013. Global Corruption Report:

education. https://www.transparency.org/gcr_education

34. IIEP/CHEA. 2016. Advisory statement for international

practice. Combating corruption and enhancing integrity:
A contemporary challenge for the quality and credibility
of higher education http://unesdoc.unesco.org/
images/0024/002494/249460E.pdf

35. Popham, 1999. Why standardized tests don’t measure

educational quality. http://www.ascd.org/publications/
educational-leadership/mar99/vol56/num06/Why-
Standardized-Tests-Don’t-Measure-Educational-Quality.
aspx. Prais, 2003. Cautions on OECD’S Recent
Educational Survey (PISA) http://www.oecd.org/edu/
school/programmeforinternationalstudentassessmentpisa
/33680693.pdf

36. Hubbard, 2007. Putting the power of transparency in

context: Information’s role in reducing corruption in
Uganda’s education sector https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/
papers.cfm?abstract_id=1100131

Corruption in education services 21

Transparency International
International Secretariat
Alt-Moabit 96, 10559 Berlin, Germany

Phone: +49 30 34 38 200

Fax: +49 30 34 70 39 12

[email protected]
www.transparency.org

blog.transparency.org
facebook.com/transparencyinternational
twitter.com/anticorruption

22 Transparency International