Tackling Corruption in Higher Education Finding solutions through youth engagement Budapest, 1st October 2013 Nguyen Thi Kieu Vien Coordinator, The Global Transparency Education Network (GTEN)
Overview: • Corruption in higher education: What are we talking about? • Why do we need to engage youth? • Two examples from Romania and Lithuania • Some observations and conclusions
When talking about corruption in higher education, experts, amongst other things, refer to : Institutional corruption: Financial fraud Illegal procurement of goods and services Tax avoidance Individual corruption : Cheating on examination Plagiarisms Falsification of research data and results (Global Corruption Report: Education)
But then, why do we need to engage youth? • Young people tend to be more exposed to bribery, more vulnerable to corruption (TI, 2009) • 27% of people aged under 30 paid a bribe in the last 12 months worldwide (TI GCB, 2013) • A fifth of the world ’ s population is between 15-24 ( TI, 2009) • 87% of the population in developing countries is estimated under 25 beyond 2015 (Beyond 2015, 2013)
Why engaging youth (Cont)? • Students have to pay a bribe to be admitted to a particular university or programme According to a survey conducted in Bosnia Herzegovina: • More than 50% of the students pointed to corruption as the single most important problem facing the higher education • A half stated that they themselves would cheat in exams if they believed they would not be caught • But while being victims and enforcers of corruption, many youth can also act as change-agents as they have the potential to stop corruption (TI , 2009, 2013, GCR: Education)
Two Examples of “ Tackling corruption in higher education by engaging youth “ • Example 1: Ranking University Governance in Romania (A documented case, GCR: Education) • Example 2: Mobilization of university students to adopt Integrity Pledges: “ I promise not to cheat in this exam ! ” (An on-going initiative, TI Lithuania)
Ranking University governance in Romania Context: Culture of corruption in higher education has been pervasive: in 2012, 3 ministers, a prime minister and the general prosecutor of Romania have been accused of plagiarism; cheating for getting a decree persists without any consequences. Response: A coalition of stakeholders comprised of students and teachers ’ professional associations and education journalists, proposed a ranking of integrity in universities by naming (shaming), encouraging and disseminating good practices.
Ranking University governance in Romania Approach: • A questionnaire covering 4 aspects of governance is used to assess each university (Transparency and responsiveness, Academic Integrity, Governance quality, and financial management) • Students were mobilized to be a part of the evaluation team composed of all volunteer evaluators (faculty members and students) • This exercise was undertaken two years in a row (2009-2010) to allow Universities to improve their performance
Ranking University governance in Romania Impacts: • Immediate improvement in universities ’ transparency: • Over a quarter of universities now publish all procurement expenses on their website despite the absence of a law; • In the 2 nd year (2010) more than a third of universities improved their scores in this category; 1 university hired a Deputy Dean “ For transparency ” • Reformers had more courage to demand change: Groups “ for a clean university ” comprised of students, academics, civil society, and private sector, sprang up across the country!
Ranking University governance in Romania Lessons learned: • Coalition (multi-stakeholders) approach works : Universities would never have cooperated with an assessment by one NGO • The role played by students was important : as a part of evaluation team, they were successfully mobilized in the process of improving transparency of their education system
Integrity Pledge: “ I Promise not to cheat in this exam ” ! Project Objective: Strengthening academic integrity amongst university students through changing the current practice of cheating in exams by introducing the Integrity Pledge Based on the grounded premise that: Students who cheat in high school and/or college are more likely to engage in corruption at work (Sims 1993, Nonis and Swift 2001, Lawson 2004, Graves 2008) AND Students who sign integrity pledges before every major exam/assessment are less likely to cheat. (McCabe and Pavela 2010)
Integrity Pledge: “ I promise not to cheat in this exam ” ! Context: Lithuanian National Union of Students checked in 2013: • 60% of students believe cheating is widespread • 50% say students plagiarize • 33% say students submit works from paper-mills • 24% come up with bogus citations to make a point
Integrity Pledge: “ I Promise not to cheat in this exam ” ! Response: • A clear statement of values supporting academic integrity • Proper formulation and continuous revision of exam tasks • Integrity pledges to be signed before every examination Implementation Approach: • National campaign on awareness raising targeting students and university members; • Lobbying Lithuanian National Union of Students and other national bodies for officially introducing the suggested Integrity Pledge • Combined effort to push the initiative together with students. Expected results: • Short term: In school year 2013, students in 5 universities will voluntarily sign Integrity Pledge • Long term: Universities include Integrity Pledge in their academic regulations.
Integrity Pledge: “ I Promise not to cheat in this exam ” !
Some observations and conclusions • Tackling corruption in higher education does not presume an easy answer • Youth can and should be further engaged in finding solutions to both “ institutional ” as well as “ individual ” corruption in higher education • Documented successes (e.g. Romania case) should be widely shared, discussed and considered for possible adaptation to similar contexts • Innovative approach (e.g. students ’ commitment not to cheat in exams) is a good starting point • Sharing and learning of successes and challenges of all these have important implications for the future of universities, individual students and anti-corruption activists and NGOs
Interested to know more and stay in touch? Email: Vien Nguyen- Coordinator The Global Transparency Education Network (GTEN) kieuvien@towardstransparency.vn Join GTEN facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1377769019111082/
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