Corrupt schools, corrupt universities

Abstract

In a context of budget austerity and pressure on international flows of funds, there is a clear demand for more efficiency in the use of public resources. Recent surveys suggest that leakage of funds from ministries of education to schools can represent as much as 80 per cent of the total sum allocated (non-salary expenditures) in some countries. Bribes and payoffs in teacher recruitment and promotion tend to lower the quality of public school teachers; and illegal payments for school entrance and other hidden costs help explain low school enrolment and high drop-out rates. At the same time, ethical education is central in preventing corruption, by fostering attitudes that do not tolerate corruption among the new generation. However, such an education alone can hardly prove efficient, in a context of unethical management of the education sector itself. This book presents the conclusions of the research conducted by the IIEP in the field of ethics and corruption in education. It relies on all the activities undertaken within this framework, including a preparatory workshop, study tour, international policy dialogue seminar, monographic and comparative studies, and the design of methodological tools for assessing, diagnosing and evaluating corrupt practices in education. It aims at sensitizing decision-makers, educational planners and managers to the importance of combating corruption in education; at providing them with key tools to detect and assess corruption problems; and at guiding them in the formulation of adequate strategies to curb malpractices. The authors argue that creating and maintaining transparent regulatory systems, strengthening management capacities for greater accountability and enhancing ownership of the management process can help build a virtuous triangle that is favorable to educational systems free from corruption. More specifically, they conclude with a list of recommendations, including the following: • to combat corruption, there is a need for clear norms and regulations, transparent procedures and an explicit policy framework specifying, for each of the steps involved, the distribution of responsibilities between different stakeholders in the allocation, distribution and use of educational resources; • improving skills in management, accounting, monitoring and audit are basic requirements for reducing corruption in education. Better training of not only administrative staff at the different levels involved, but also of other stakeholders in the system, such as Parent-Teacher Associations, unions and other relevant civil society organizations, should be considered accordingly; • access to information for the public at large is indispensable for building participation, ownership and social control. As a result, those closest to the point of delivery – the school – must be sufficiently well informed not only to be able to detect fraud, but also to claim what they are entitled to receive.