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For Students in the Balkans, an Education in Corruption

“Imagine that you, as a student, are forced by your professor to buy a textbook that she herself wrote in order to receive the points you need for your final grade. That’s the case for four out of ten students studying in Skopje, Macedonia, according to a survey that reveals pervasive cheating, plagiarism, and bribery in universities in the Balkans [PDF].

The Anti-Corruption Student Network in South East Europe looked at the impact of widespread corruption on the quality of higher education in Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Moldova, and Serbia. This graphic shows the percentage of students who reported having to pay a bribe or purchase a textbook written by their professor in exchange for better grades. See larger version. Daniel Janev/Anti-Corruption Student Network in South East Europe

The survey was conducted by the Anti-Corruption Student Network in South East Europe (ACSN SEE) and looked at the impact of widespread corruption on the quality of higher education in Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Moldova, and Serbia.

The findings were disturbing. Less than a third of the students surveyed said they would report a teacher for taking a bribe. The number goes up to two-thirds if they were to report it anonymously. In Skopje, more than half of the students believe corruption is considerably or very present at higher education institutions in Macedonia, but many said they were reluctant to report incidents of it for fear of becoming targets for revenge.“

Photo: Inclusion4Schools

Source: https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/world-s-most-corrupt-university-system