Corruption in the education sector: Literature review

• Hardjono, R and Teggemann, S (eds.) (2003)
  The Poor Speak up - 17 Stories of Corruption
  The Partnership for Governance Reform - Indonesia
  This book is the result of an initiative by the Partnership for Governance Reform in Indonesia and the World Bank. It is one of the few studies that look at corruption from the perspective of those most affected, and illustrates the different ways in which corruption impacts on poor people’s lives, for example when having to obtain basic public services. A good introduction on why corruption matters.
  

• Heyneman, S P (2002)
  Education and Corruption
  Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Sacramento, California, July 2002
  This paper provides a useful overview of corruption in education and ways to tackle it, and is notable for providing a much wider analysis than merely of bribery of teachers. Although the emphasis of the paper is on higher education, it is more-or-less equally applicable to other education institutions. Heyneman defines corruption in education and explains why it is important: corruption in education leads to lack of trust in schools, which leads not only to lower economic growth but more broadly undermines a nation’s sense of social cohesion – “the principal ingredient of all successful modern societies”. He describes various types of educational corruption and their causes (selection of pupils and educational institutions, supply of educational supplies, professional misconduct, corruption relating to educational property and income), and suggests four categories of reforms to minimize the risk of educational corruption.
  (http://www.policy.lv/index.php?id=102582&lang=en)

• Hallak, J and Poisson, M (2003)
  Ethics and corruption in education
  International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP), UNESCO
  This report presents the outcomes of an expert workshop organized by the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) in November 2001. The objective of the workshop was to be advised on the design, methodologies and implementation of a new IIEP research program dealing with "Ethics and corruption in education". The report consists of three chapters, an annotated bibliography of 80 documents, plus two appendices. The first chapter is a background document prepared by the IIEP for the workshop. Issues such as definitions, conceptual framework, methodologies, and approaches are discussed in this chapter. Chapter two summarizes the discussions as they took place during the workshop. Chapter three presents the outcomes of an IIEP-led survey. The exercise is focused and aims to find practical answers to complex questions. The report is essential for anyone engaged in anti-corruption work in the education sector.
  (http://www.unesco.org/iiep/PDF/Forum15.pdf)

• Reinikka, R and Svensson, J (2003)
  Survey techniques to measure and explain corruption
  World Bank Research Paper 3071
  In this World Bank Working Paper it is demonstrated that, with appropriate survey methods and interview techniques, it is possible to collect quantitative micro-level data on corruption. Public expenditure tracking surveys, service provider surveys, and enterprise surveys are highlighted with several applications. While often broader in scope, these surveys permit measurement of corruption at the level of individual agents, such as schools, health clinics, or firms. They also permit the study of mechanisms responsible for corruption, including leakage of funds and bribery, as data on corruption can be combined with other data collected in these surveys. This paper is a product of the World Bank Public Services, Development Research Group, and it is a part of a larger effort in the group to measure and explain corruption at micro level and to explore its effects on service delivery.
  (http://www-wds.worldbank.org/...1&searchMenuPK=64187511&theSitePK=523679)

• Bray, M (2003)
  Adverse effects of private supplementary tutoring: dimensions, implications and government responses
  Private supplementary tutoring has long been a major phenomenon in some parts of East Asia, particularly Japan, the Republic of Korea and Taiwan. In recent decades it has grow significantly in both industrialized and less developed societies. This monograph focuses on the adverse effects of private tutoring, which includes distortion of the mainstream curricula, pressure on young pupils, exacerbation of social inequalities, and manipulation of clients by tutors - particularly in situations where mainstream teachers provide paid supplementary tutoring for their own pupils after school hours.
  

• Eckstein, M A (2003)
  Combating academic fraud: towards a culture of integrity
  This book documents the importance and extent of academic fraud, in a context of the international flow of persons, global communication of information and ideas, and the ubiquity of corporate and other forms of fraud in contemporary society. It identifies major varieties of academic fraud such as cheating in high stakes examinations, plagiarism, credentials fraud, and misconduct in reform policies. Examples of measures to limit academic fraud are presented, including national and local government interventions, punitive measures, the activities of academic and professional organizations, and the promotion of greater academic integrity. Throughout, attention is drawn to increasing participation in academic activities, the importance of qualifications and printed credentials, the international dimensions of academic fraud, and the role of advanced technology in facilitating both fraud and efforts to combat it.
  

• Gupta, S, Davoodi, H and Tiongson, E (2003)
  Corruption and the Provision of Health Care and Education Services
  This paper reviews the relevant theoretical models and users’ perceptions of corruption in the public provision of social services. Reports based on public service delivery surveys are found to confirm the pervasiveness of corruption and bribery in the public provision of health and education services. Evidence that reducing corruption can result in significant gains as measured by decreases in child and infant mortality rates, percent of low-birth weight babies, and primary school dropout rates are provided. The purpose of the review is to determine whether a link between corruption and the outcome of public provision of social services can be established. However, the question of what causes such links and how to approach the problem of corruption receives less attention. Suggested policy implications appear rather conventional and devoid of contextual considerations.
  

• Tanaka, S (2001)
  Corruption in education sector development: a suggestion for anticipatory strategy
  The International Journal of Educational Management 15/4 [2001] pp. 158-166
  In this article the author proposes an anticipatory strategy that will help professionals to protect an education project from corruption. The strategy contains of four components: 1) diagnosis/planning process for corruption prevention, 2) list possible education areas where corruption may occur, 3) dimension analysis, and 4) example measures. Much of the discussion concentrates around the first component, which again consists of five steps. The strategy is further explained by a hypothetical example. The author states that there is no universal definition of corruption. This premise is less obvious in the suggested strategy.
  

• Greaney, V and Kellaghan, T (2003)
  Equity Issues in Public Examinations in Developing Countries
  World Bank Technical Paper No 272
  The study presents an analysis of inequities associated with public examinations in developing countries. A distinction is drawn between inequities in examinations and more general inequities and inequalities in educational systems. Research from close to thirty countries mainly in Africa and Asia is reviewed. By identifying the sources of inequities it hopes to pinpoint the way to improve the quality of instruction and learning in developing countries. Corruption is not the focal point, but the problems raised are close to those of corruption. Two of the main questions asked that in particular can be linked to the question of corruption are 1) how equitable it is to use examination results to assess school effectiveness and to hold schools accountable (chapter 3), and 2) if factors associated with the administration of examinations, in particular scoring practices and malpractice, give rise to inequities (chapter 4).
  

• Schüler, D and Klasen, S (2004)
  Financing of Social Sectors - State of the Art in the International Development Debate
  Development Information Center (IZEP) of InWEnt – Issues Study 14
  The topic of this Issues Study “Financing of Social Sectors” is to review the challenges posed by the effort to scale-up and improve pro-poor social sector delivery in developing countries. It will report on and discuss research findings and present concurring as well as controversial positions on “new” policy approaches to effective delivery of social services.
  

• Reinikka, R and Svensson, J (2002)
  Local Capture and the Political Economy of School Financing
  This article by Reinikka and Svensson explains leakage of public funds in education, using panel data from a study of primary schools in Uganda. The data reveal that on average, schools received only 13% of what the central government contributed to the schools’ non-wage expenditures. The bulk of the allocated spending was either used by public officials for purposes unrelated to education, or captured for private gain (leakage).
  

• Ochse, K L (2004)
  Preventing Corruption in the Education System
  Division 42: Sector Project: Development and Testing of Strategies and Instruments for the Prevention of Corruption
  This practical guide is produced by GTZ under the sector project ‘Prevention of Corruption’, and addresses those responsible for development cooperation projects aiming to promote reform in the education sector. The guide aims to provide ideas and practical support, and to indicate ways of integrating corruption-prevention components appropriately in projects of this nature. Based on the priorities of German development cooperation in the Education system, the guide is built around the identification of manifestations and possible weak points in terms of corruption related to 1) personnel, 2) the finance and procurement system in educational institutions, 3) access to educational institutions, and 4) quality and quantity of education. The guide proceeds to point out measures to prevent corruption for each of these areas.
  

• Bray, M (1999)
  The shadow education system: private tutoring and its implications for planners
  IIEP-UNESCO - Fundamentals of Educational Planning - 61
  This booklet problematises the phenomenon of private tuition. It states that private tuition has become part of the education environment to such an extent that nobody really questions its existence. Private tutoring has grown to become a vast enterprise and fee-free education doesn't necessarily mean free of cost. A central argument is that private supplementary tutoring deserves much greater attention than it has so far received. Different sides of private tutoring are discussed with the aim of uncovering both positive and negative aspects. The author questions whether schooling in the public system should be free of charge since people appear both willing and able to pay a lot of money for private tutoring. However, private tutoring may have an impact on social inequalities and economic development in different societies. Corruption is not mentioned, but there is a clear connection between what is said here about private tutoring and various forms of government corruption.
  

• Poisson, M (2009)
  Guidelines for the design and effective use of teacher codes of conducts
  International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP), UNESCO
  To increase the professionalization of teacher, several countries have developed codes of conduct in the education sector. But even when such codes exist, their impact is sometimes questionable due to a variety of reasons. UNESCO has developed comprehensive guidelines not only to guide countries willing to design (or review) their code but also to implement and monitor how the code is used at all levels in the sector, including its integration into teachers’ education and professional development.
  (http://teachercodes.iiep.unesco.org/...g/teachercodes/guidelines/Guidelines.pdf)

• Transparency International (2009)
  Africa Education Watch
  TI, Berlin, Germany
  This report presents a regional overview of accountability and transparency in primary education management in seven African countries. It focuses on the effects of decentralisation policies on corruption levels and increased oversight and accountability, based on the presumption that bringing the management of the sector closer to the user leads to increased monitoring and control and decreased graft and corruption. The findings and recommendations are interesting for those working to implement decentralisation in poor countries.
  (http://www.transparency.org/.../in_focus/2010/african_education_watch#6)

• Hallak, J. and Poisson, M. (2006)
  Corrupt Schools, Corrupt Universities. What can be done?
  International Institute for Educational Planning
  Rigged calls for tender, embezzlement, academic fraud: Corruption in education is widespread and manifold. This publication draws lessons from six years of research, covering the experiences of over 60 countries. It makes valuable recommendations for education professionals and provides them with key tools.
  

• Mario Claasen (2008)
  Making the Budget Work for Education
  Commonwealth Education Fund
  Can children understand school budgets - and monitor them up to influence the dismissal of corrupt school officials? Are villagers able to discuss school budgets and education policy with parliamentarians? It seems to be the case in the five developing countries featured in this report. The Commonwealth Education Fund (CEF) brings out case studies of budget monitoring work conducted by local communities. Local groups learned specific economic terms, were shown how to analyse budgets, and performed a monitoring role that helped them improve governance at community schools and influence policy at the central level. CEF's report tells, step by step, the experiences of school budget monitoring in Bangladesh, Kenya, Ghana, Malawi, and Uganda.
  

• Patrinos, H and Kagia, R (2007)
  Maximizing the performance of education systems: The case of teacher absenteeism
  in Campos, J. and Pradhan, S. (ed). The Many Faces of Corruption: Tracking Vulnerabilities at the Sector Level, Washington D.C.: The World Bank
  Teachers correspond to the most important feature of the education system, not only because their salaries account for most of expenditures in such sector but also because they are the gatekeepers of education service.Teachers’ absenteeism is associated with a reduction of pupils' achievement, overall denigration of school’s performance as well as the provision of negative models to students. Therefore, losses associated with it pose a threat to the country’s growth potential. This paper presents various findings and and studies, as well as strategies and examples on how to combat absenteeism
  

• Hallak, J and Poisson, M (2009)
  Écoles corrumpues, universités corrompues: que faire?
  Institut International de Planificacion de l'éducation
  Ce livre présente les conclusions de l'enquête menée par l'Institut international de planification de l 'éducation. Il alerte les décideurs et les responsables du secteur éducatif sur l'importance de la lutte contre la corruption et leur fournit les moyens de détecter ce problème et les stratégies à mettre en œuvre pour prévenir toutes tentatives de corruption et combattre ces actes délictueux.
  

• TI (2009)
  Africa Education Watch: Lecons de bonne gouvernance pour l'éducation primaire
  Ce rapport présente un panorama régional sur l’état de la responsabilité et de la transparence dans la gestion du système éducatif primaire de sept pays d'Afrique.
  

• Hallak, J and Poisson, M (2010)
  Escuelas corruptas, universidades corruptas: ¿Qué hacer?
  Instituto Internacional de Planeamiento de la Educación
  Este libro resume las conclusiones de una investigación del IIPE y alerta los responsables en el sector educación sobre la importancia de la lucha contra la corrupción ademas de proveer medios para detección del problema y estrategias que pueden ser aplicada para prevenir y combater hechos corruptos en el sector.