Corruption in the education sector

What can be done?

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Success stories of donor-led anti-corruption interventions in education are few and far between. However, experience has shown which measures are unlikely to produce results, and one failure has been to implement readymade technocratic solutions ignoring the complex nature of the problem. Furthermore, donors have experienced especially difficult local environments when attempting to bring about public sector reform.

Success stories often remain undocumented, but these pages present some interesting positive cases. If you know of any other examples, we urge you to tell U4 (u4@u4.no) about them so that more people can learn from the experience.

How to prepare for new measures
There are some basic principles that practitioners need to consider before designing anti-corruption interventions in tandem with domestic counterparts.

Sector-specific interventions have limited effect if they are not embedded in broader, integrated reform efforts involving large parts of the public sector.

It is crucial to have adequate data on the corruption problem in the sector. What are the causes? Where do leakages occur? If detailed information is lacking, diagnostic appraisals must be conducted. See the section on Public Expenditure Tracking Surveys (PETS).

Country dynamics and sector contexts must be kept in mind when formulating interventions. All research, programme design and implementation should take place in close cooperation with government counterparts. Otherwise the effects are unlikely to be sustainable.

A clear view of the government counterparts' mindset is important: to what degree do they respect the rule of law, encourage transparency, act against violations, and exhibit integrity in their own transactions?


Necessary factors for increasing accountability
Accountable education systems rely on laws promoting transparency, a free press, and an active civil society. Additionally, organisational structures and administrative procedures must be clear-cut and built on principles of accountability and transparency.

Necessary factors for success include:

• politically independent administrations
• clear-cut management rules and procedures
• clear standards and rules for merit-based teacher recruitment and promotion
• clear criteria for student admissions and examinations
• codes of conduct
• systems for monitoring compliance with rules and applying punitive measures in case of non-compliance
• rules on conflicts of interest
• autonomous examination agencies
• involvement of parents, teachers, and civil society in planning and management
• access to information
• complaint mechanisms available for all interested parties (including rights for whistleblowers)
• internal and external control of accreditation boards for private institutions

Local stakeholder ownership
The education sector will not reform itself, thus efforts to support local stakeholders in their demands for accountability are important. This includes individuals who become targets of those reluctant to forego entrenched and profitable power.

Ownership must be built within the institution to ensure the sustainability of reform projects. This entails involving all parties in the planning and implementation stages. Whenever possible, projects should also have local leadership.

Examples of good practice

Education Management Information Systems (EMIS)
An Education Management Information System can monitor performance and enhance quality by countering the problem of inadequate information about activities in the education sector. It is used in many countries, and its overall purpose is to improve accountability for public spending, as well as understanding of school programmes and accomplishments. It provides information on the needs of school districts, including student performance and participation indicators.

In Gambia the introduction of EMIS provided an objective means of tracking and ranking teachers by seniority, language skills, specialisation, and other relevant factors for appointment. The information prevented appointments based on personal connections and other invalid grounds. (Department of State Education of Gambia 2001, in B. I. Spector et al. 2005)

Sentralised university admissions
In Azerbaijan, a state student admissions committee was established following revelations of corruption in university admissions. By supervising all national university entry examinations and admissions the committee has reduced corruption considerably. (Chapman 2002)

Central vs. local administration
Decentralisation is often mentioned as a means to improve accountability and governance in education, making monitoring easier for local communities. However, this view is not supported by empirical studies, and by decentralising the administration of funds you also risk decentralising the opportunities for corruption.

Any decentralisation should be matched by equivalent downsizing of the administration at ministerial level, while ensuring sufficient staffing and training at local levels.

Privatisation and outsourcing
Privatising and outsourcing services such as transport, maintenance, canteens, etc, can sometimes prevent the negative price and quality effects of monopoly situations. However, this requires sound regulation of procurement and privatisation, to avoid creating new opportunities for corruption.

Codes of conduct
Clear codes of conduct for school staff are needed to ensure certain standards for professional ethics that are not directly covered by law. Codes must describe what constitutes corrupt practice, especially when proper professional conduct differs from otherwise widely accepted social norms. Gift giving may be appropriate outside the classroom, but not as a requisite for receiving education.

The effectiveness of codes depends on them being publicly known, respected at government and other top levels, and consistently enforced. Non-compliance must result in the loss of teaching licences.

Professional associations or unions are suitable sources of such codes, and the Declaration of Professional Ethics developed by the World Union of Teacher Associations "Education International" in 2001 is a good model.

Theft, misuse of funds and other illegal acts carried out by staff must be consistently dealt with by the courts to maintain respect for the rule of law.

Involvement of parents and civil society
An active citizenry which demands quality education and fair use of funds is crucial for the sustainability of reforms.

Through participation one can build the parents and students' sense of ownership necessary for holding administrators accountable. In El Salvador the EDUCO programme increased community involvement which had a positive effect on school performance, with a significant increase in primary school enrolment. Parent-teacher associations and community groups can play a vital role in improving school management.

Establishing complaint channels and counselling facilities can help bolster student participation and confidence. Suggestion boxes and anti-corruption committees are but a few possibilities.

Donors can offer training to enable people to act as local watchdogs ensuring that their educational rights are met. According to D. Chapman in B. I. Spector et al 2005, people need to know:

• the characteristics of an effective school
• what educator behaviours to look for when assessing their effectiveness
• the legal rights as parents and community members
• how to interpret financial information - school budgets, etc.
• how procedures and operational decisions work
• the sanctions they can bring to bear as community members

Report card appraisal
Public feedback, organised through civil society, can be a powerful tool for making social services more responsive and accountable. TI Bangladesh uses report cards to draw attention to perceived problems in the delivery of services. Report cards are filled in by users of public services and subsequently analysed. The results are made available to Committees of Concerned Citizens, who then exert pressure for change on the basis of the findings.

The World Bank piloted a report card project in the Philippines to seek feedback on selected government services, one of which was elementary education. Through the survey citizens had a say in the quality and affordability of education, and revealed their awareness of, and access to, education.

Lobbying for change through NGOs
In Russia, schools request money from parents using a number of excuses. Such practices are not legal, but parents pay out of fear that their children will otherwise face retribution. Neither the funds themselves nor their use is subsequently accounted for. With small grants to NGOs in Samara and Tomsk actions were taken to work with parents and school districts to improve the transparency of budget planning and expenditure, and to increase parents’ influence over the process. The aim was achieved successfully through intensive lobbying of school administrations. (Management Systems International 2003)

Access to information
As a prerequisite for participation the public must have access to updated and accurate information on financial and statistical data for the transfer of funds to schools, the allocation of positions, school meals, the purchase of books/stationery, etc. This includes having regular access to an up-to-date and accurate list of teachers, preventing cases of ghost teachers and excessive absenteeism. The resulting increase in transparency will enable the public to monitor and compare actual expenditure against policy statements.

All the factors and examples listed on this page are dependent on underlying favourable economic and political conditions which support reform. Often the first barrier to climb is the entrenched belief that the problem of corruption is too colossal to confront, but working to change this mindset can yield extraordinary results..

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