How corruption is bleeding schools

Details have emerged of widespread corruption crippling education systems across Africa, with a new study exposing ghost teachers, payroll fraud, bribery, exam malpractice and sexual exploitation as some of the biggest threats facing learning institutions.

The report by Transparency International comes months after after the Auditor General that unearthed ghost schools and learners prompting a clean-up exercise and questions over billions lost in funding non-existent learners and institutions.

The continental study, Leaving No Learner Behind: Tackling Corruption and Discrimination in Education Across Africa, examined education systems in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ghana, Madagascar, Rwanda and Zimbabwe.

It found corruption had become deeply entrenched at every stage of education service delivery.

Researchers surveyed more than 5,000 students, parents and teachers,  education officials and oversight agencies to establish how corruption affects access to education.

Among the most striking findings is that 56 per cent of respondents in the DRC reported paying or witnessing bribes to secure school admission.

 In Madagascar, more than 60 per cent of parents of children with disabilities said their children had been excluded from school because of illegal charges or discriminatory practices.

Zimbabwe recorded some of the highest levels of corruption, with 72 per cent of respondents acknowledging bribery during school admissions alongside widespread reports of sexual coercion.

In Ghana, payroll fraud and ghost workers continue to drain resources from schools, while Rwanda was found to face integrity risks in examination grading, internship placements and school feeding programmes, with female learners particularly vulnerable to sextortion.

Although Kenya was not among the countries covered in the study, the findings mirror concerns that have emerged locally following the government's nationwide verification of schools and learners.

A special audit by the Auditor General in 2025 uncovered widespread irregularities in the disbursement of capitation funds to public schools between the 2020/21 and 2023/24 financial years.

The findings point to billions of shillings paid to non-existent schools, inflated student enrolment figures and weaknesses in the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS).

The audit found that Sh3.7 billion in capitation was disbursed to 33 schools that did not exist. The payments were made over four financial years despite the institutions having no physical presence.

Secondary schools were also found to have received substantial excess allocations.

According to the audit, 354 secondary schools were overfunded by a combined Sh3.5 billion after the number of learners recorded in government systems exceeded the actual enrolment in the institutions.

Similar irregularities were identified in junior secondary and primary schools.

Ghost learners also emerged as a major source of concern by the Auditor General as  723 out of the 1,039 schools sampled had discrepancies between the number of learners physically present and those captured in NEMIS.

In response, the Ministry of Education launched a verification exercise to establish the  accuracy of enrolment records used to allocate capitation funds to public schools.

The Transparency International report warns that such weaknesses create fertile ground for corruption.

It identifies ghost workers, nepotistic recruitment, payroll fraud, procurement irregularities, diversion of school resources and examination malpractice as some of the most common forms of corruption affecting education systems across Africa.

 The report also cites theft of learning materials, hidden school charges and favouritism in teacher recruitment as practices that continue to undermine learning outcomes.

"Corruption in education is not a victimless administrative failure, it is a direct assault on human rights and social justice," Paul Banoba, Africa Regional Advisor at Transparency International said.

The report identifies sextortion as one of the fastest-growing but least reported forms of corruption within education systems.

Female learners are reportedly pressured into exchanging sexual favours for grades, school admission, scholarships and internship opportunities, with many choosing not to report the abuse because of fear, stigma and weak protection mechanisms.

Children with disabilities and learners from poor households are also disproportionately affected through informal fees, inaccessible infrastructure and discriminatory practices that make education unaffordable or inaccessible.

The report argues that weak oversight remains one of the biggest drivers of corruption across the education sector.

"The evidence from these five countries shows that discriminatory and gendered corruption is entrenched across systems, denying millions of learners the opportunity to access education on equal and fair terms." Banoba saisd.

Further it states that Parent-Teacher Associations, school boards and anti-corruption committees often lack the legal powers, financial independence and protection needed to hold school administrators accountable, allowing corruption to flourish unchecked.

"Corruption thrives where oversight is weak and sanctions are inconsistently enforced," Albert Rwego Kavatiri, ISDA Project Regional Education Expert and Programme Manager at Transparency International Rwanda said.

To iron out the issues, the Kenyan Ministry of Education hasindicated plans to launch the  Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS).

The system seeks to establish a credible database of learners, teachers and institutions to ensure capitation funds reach legitimate schools.

Education stakeholders have argued that cleaning up learner records and eliminating ghost schools is critical in protecting scarce public resources at a time when the sector continues to face funding constraints.