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Education Sector Corruption in Ethiopia 93
of the admission cards. In one region, respondents estimated that more
than 200 students took an exam for other students.
• Collusion allowing both individual and group cheating in examinations.
Assistance from invigilators and school and local officials was noted in
the survey to be common in all regions studied. Threatening or bribing
strict supervisors and invigilators for their silence was reported to be a
major problem in several centers.
• Higher-level interference. It was alleged that in 2008, in one region, action
was taken to disqualify cheaters, but regional officials overturned that
disqualification.
• Fraudulent overscoring of examination papers occurs when teachers are
bribed by parents and students.
Fraud in certification (transcripts and certificates)—risk: high. Survey
responses suggest there is a significant risk of corruption in certification,
with 20 percent of TTC and university students perceiving that some
students’ certificates or transcripts are forged to help them graduate.
Similar concerns are expressed by other stakeholder groups, including at
the household level, where a minority of respondents consider that some
students’ certificates or transcripts are forged to help them pass to the
next grade or level.
The corrupt practice identified as being most prevalent concerned the
falsification of documents pertaining to student performance. Feedback
in all regions suggested that there was an “industry” involved in falsification
of documents and that it was most prevalent in the provision of
certification for completing the primary or secondary school cycles.
Teacher absenteeism—risk: medium. In Ethiopian schools, teacher absenteeism
is not common, nor is not common in the form and to the extent
found in many other developing countries. In community interviews and
surveys, 78 percent stated that the teacher was “always” at school for work,
while 21 percent said “sometimes.” If representative, this compares favorably
with other estimates in the region: in Kenya, 26 percent absenteeism
rates are reported, and in Uganda, 28 percent (Chaudhury et al. 2006).
However, among Ethiopian TTC and university students, only 30 percent
of respondents reported that instructors were “always” available.
Nevertheless, some practices seem to suggest an increased risk in this
area. In a number of regions, the survey revealed the practice of certain
teachers paying bribes or kickbacks to management, mostly school directors,
to allocate shorter work hours in schools so that they can use the