Corruption Watch report raises alarm over graft in education sector
A new report released by Corruption Watch on Thursday has revealed persistent corruption in certain areas of the education sector, despite the numerous policies and legislation intended to provide unlimited access to decent education.
The watchdog says the 3000 reports of education-related corruption it received between 2012 and 2021 constitutes 10% of the total amount of reports received during that period.
The report points to various number of issues including misappropriation of resources, acts of bribery, sextortion, abuse of authority, and blatant flouting of employment and procurement processes.
The report investigated the primary and secondary schools , SETAs , and technical, vocational, education and training colleges across the country.
Corruption Watch senior researcher Melusi Ncala says most of these cases emerge from Gauteng, KwaZulu- Natal and the Eastern Cape.
"Though most provinces are affected, the hotspots where most cases originate are Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.
"The predominant types of corruption and implicated parties vary according to the institution – in schools, misappropriation of resources, maladministration, and abuse of authority rank highest, with principals and school governing body members implicated as the primary culprits.
"Alarmingly, incidents of bribery and extortion are also prevalent, including allegations of sextortion, along with employment irregularities.
"The picture changes slightly in SETAs, as procurement irregularities top the scale, followed by maladministration and misappropriation of resources. Once again, it is people in positions of power who are seen to solicit bribes, flout recruitment processes, and disrupt the smooth roll-out of training programmes and learnerships."
Ncala adds that in TVET colleges the main type of corruption also includes employment irregularities and abuse of authority.
"At TVET colleges the main types of corruption reported are procurement irregularities, employment irregularities, and abuse of authority.
"As with schools and SETAs, these cases involve theft of resources, bribery, and extortion, with municipal officials and college executives and administrators most often implicated."
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