| COMBATING FRAUD, CORRUPTION AND LOSS OF RESOURCES IN THE NIGERIAN EDUCATIONAL SECTOR: ISSUES AND REALITIES A PAPER PRESENTED BY ARC. PROF. UKACHUKWU ALOY AWUZIE IMO STATE UNIVERSITY, OWERRI ON THIS 29TH DAY OF OCTOBER 2009. 1.0 Introduction The issue of fraud and corruption and the search for ways and means for the elimination of these vices in our body polity has remained of central focus these days. Fraud and corruption are so prevalent in the system that they have provided answers to successive changes in government and claim to governance; and removal of certain key officers in the public and private sectors of the economy. Nigeria acquired an unacceptable public image because of fraud and corruption in our body polity. The Government itself recognizes the prevalence of fraud and corruption and their negative impact on our socio-economic development, hence, the successive efforts to control and or eliminate these vices within the system. It is in response to this, that bodies like the ICPC and EFCC were established by the Government. Despite the effort of these agencies of government in mitigating corruption it is not yet uhuru€. The prevalence of fraud and corruption in the education sector has also become a major concern in recent times. Education is the bedrock of development in any nation. Sustainable educational development is the foundation and building blocks for sustainable economic development. Where the educational sector is characterized by fraud and corruption, this may spell doom for the nation. There is therefore every need to check and control the existence of these vices in the education sector of our economy. The aim of this paper therefore is to highlight some aspects of fraud and corruption in the educational sector, the adequacy or otherwise of the machinery for control of these vices in the education sector. It is also intended to broker further strategies for the control and elimination of these practices in the sector. While tinkering on this, I strongly believe that mere technical rules and enforcement procedures generally will not solve the problem. They remain supplementary efforts. There is the urgent need for a fundamental change in the entire socio-economic order. The new order will provide the legal, organisational and socio-economic environment which would control and eliminate fraud and corruption or their tendencies in our society generally and the education sector in particular. Before proceeding, it would be proper at this point to ask; what is fraud? What is corruption? In what forms do they exist in the educational sector? And what are their consequences? It is in the consideration of their consequences that the issue of how they cause loss of resources would be highlighted. 2.0 The Concept of Fraud and Corruption: For most people the notion of fraud and corruption conjures up the images of shady deal or character. That is, that the persons involved in fraud have conducted themselves dishonestly or in a manner lacking in integrity or moral turpitude. In the same way, corruption involves making shady deals with persons in authority either to do or refrain from doing something in his official capacity. But fraud and corruption involve or are more than these as they exist in all spheres of our socio-economic lives. That providing an all embracing definition of these concepts may not be very easy. Nevertheless, fraud has been defined as dishonest artifice or trick meant to benefit a victim. It is a known misrepresentation of the truth or concealment of a material fact to induce another to act to his or her detriment. Put in another way, it is an unconscionable dealing; especially in business, the unfair use of power arising out of the parties, relative positions and resulting in an unconscionable bargain. In effect, therefore, a fraudulent conduct is a conduct involving bad faith, dishonesty, a lack of integrity or moral turpitude. It involves a form of deviation from societal norms for personal gain at the expense of another (the victim). Corruption on the other hand has been defined as any deviation from the societal accepted standard of behaviour for the purpose of aggrandising ones personal interest as opposed to the interests of the collectivists. Like fraud, in some cases, it is the intentional misrepresentation or neglect of a recognised duty or the unwarranted exercise of power with the motive or aim of gaining some advantage more or less directly personal. Thus, any behaviour that falls short of the generally accepted standard of behaviour, the purpose of which is geared towards private gains or reward falls within this. Any such behaviour can be regarded as fraudulent or corrupt conducts. This therefore covers both ends of behaviour public or private persons inducing such behaviour. Within this context therefore fraud and corruption can be taken to mean the same thing. Some have referred to corruption as the elder sister€ of fraud. Therefore, I have chosen to refer to these concepts as corruption in this presentation. To talk about corruption and loss of resources in education sector, we are referring to those deviation from the generally acceptable standards, ethics of norms by persons for the purpose which is geared towards private or personal gains which in effect undermines the general expected standards of education in this country. 3.0 Manifestation of corruption in our body polity and the education sector in particular Corruption in our socio-economic relations ranges from petty bribery or gift making, to the wholesale pillaging of the national or state treasury or the rape of the national resources for private gains. It includes the inflation of contracts in return for kickbacks, falsification of accounts and records in the formal and informal sectors of our economy, examination malpractices in all forms in the institutions of learning, the taking of bribes and pervasion of justice in the police and other organs of the administration of justice, etc. Chief Obasanjo, the former President of Nigeria, in declaring the war against corruption through the Anti-Corruption Act in his speech maintained that corruption covers a wide spectrum of acts and not just the simple act of giving or receiving bribes. It covers such acts as: pecuniary advantages, gratification, influence peddling, insincerity in advice with the aim of gaining advantage, less than a full days work for a full days pay, tardiness and sluggishness€ It is so prevalent that it has acquired so many names depending on the circumstances and the environment. The popular names are settlement, brown envelopes, kickbacks, man-know-man. Godfather, bribe, toll-gate, roger, giro, palm greasing, sorting as it is popularly known in the tertiary institutions etc. Other dimensions of corruption include ethnicity, tribalism, nepotism, statestism and other relational acronyms that introduce double-standards in our reading with others in some cases. It is experienced in all spheres of our socio-economic relations and institutions. The legislature, executive and administration, the judiciary as well as the civil society are all involved and immersed in corruption. The educational sector is not an exception. Specifically, in the educational sector and institutions of learning in particular, examination malpractices in all forms, sexual harassment, extortion of money from students, certificate and admission racketeering, misappropriation and mismanagement of funds are only a few more examples of manifestation of corruption. 4.0 Consequences of Corruption Corruption has a litany of consequences and effects on the entire system. It leads to inefficiency, waste of resources, the distortion of investments, encouragement of cynicism and disloyalty towards the system generally and general decline in productive capacity. It wastes resources by distorting polices against the interests of the majority and away from its proper goals. It turns the energy and other persons towards easy money instead of productive activities. It hampers the growth of competitiveness and merit, frustrates efforts and creates general apathy and cynicism. To sum it all, the Economic Commission of Africa (ECA) in its report tagged €˜African Governance Report II (AGRII) 2009, to African Ministerial Meeting on International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) 15 years Review maintains that corruption remains the most formidable stumbling block to the economic development of the continent. It is a major challenge to governance in Africa. The report is emphatic on the fact that corruption erodes the capacity of the state to deliver services efficiently, provide security and maintain peace, order and social stability. When deep-rooted, corruption generates poverty and turns resources- rich countries into low-income, back-ward societies. Many countries including Nigeria are trapped in this cycle of corruption, poverty and under-development. This cankerworm undermines the ability to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) because resources meant for rural roads, electricity, health and education are diverted for personal gains. In the education sector for instance, because the resources are usually diverted, misappropriated or mismanaged, the system had remained under funded. The consequences of under-funding in the education sector are glaring on our faces today. Incessant strikes and low morale of the staff arising from low wages and poor remuneration have led to all sorts of vices including what has become popularly known today as sorting€ and extortion of money from students, and sexual harassment as are being reported by some parents and guardians. Examination malpractices in all forms in the sector in also associated with the failure of the system due to corruption. Teachers no longer pay attention to the students. There is the general loss of control and discipline. Every effort in the system is now turned and focused towards easy money and other means of personal satisfaction instead of productive activities and environment. In the 1960s and early 1970 it was a thing of pride to be in government- owned schools, but today, the reverse is the case. One could hardly find (except in the Unity Schools) any public secondary school with boarding facilities. The control and discipline the boarding system impacted on the children is gone. This is not because the system cannot afford it, but because of corruption. The marketwise system of primary and secondary education has now created a system where the focus is now on easy money, marketing the system less rigid in terms of control and discipline. The impact of these on qualitative education at all levels cannot be imagined. These half backed students and products of a failed primary and post-primary system are now turned to the Universities. The general saying is that you cannot put something on nothing€. Put in another way, one cannot roof a house without a foundation. This also explains the decadence and poor quality of education at the tertiary level. There is that general desire for learning and certificate but for failed system and environment due to corruption. 5.0 Causes of Corruption Despite all the known consequences of corruption, they exist in different dimensions in our society. This therefore raises the issue: why does corruption persist or what causes corruption in our system? There is no doubt this question would raise different explanations and sentiments. This may be particularly so because what may be regarded as corruption and corruptive tendencies may be part of a culture and or conscious state policy. This may produce double standards in the definition and explanations of corruption and acts that may lead to it. The conscious state policy irrespective of their corruptive tendencies have been used to justify certain acts and decisions and policies based on ethnicity, tribalism and stateism rather than merit in some cases. For example, Vice Chancellors in Federal Universities, today by policy are appointed from the locality of the Universities rather than merit. This has in some cases left the management of the Universities in the hand of mediocre and ethnic war lords who have little or nothing to contribute to the growth of the system. This same policy is greatly used in admissions into the post-primary and tertiary institutions in the country. This, in some cases, has left the brilliant and hardworking ones out in favour of weak students. The tolls of these on examination malpractices in the education sector have been overwhelming. Apart from this, corruption and corruptive tendencies have been associated with individual greed and avarices, fear of economic uncertainty and poverty, lack of adequate social and income security, determined lack of societal condemnation of these acts of corruption and corruptive actions; and double standards in our socio-economic relations. The causes here are by no means exhaustive but the fact remains that issues of corruption inhibit growth and sustainable development at all levels and areas in the society. There is therefore the need to confront this and tinker on how to combat this social menace in our system. This is a reality that must be addressed if we must develop as a nation and meet our desired vision 20:2020 target and Millennium Development Goals particularly on the education sector. 6.0 Issues and Realities There seems to be general awareness and concern about the issues of corruption generally and in the education sector in particular. The real challenge now is on how to combat it. Generally, the Government has responded to the issues of corruption at different times through the law and other socio-economic policies. The present legislative measure by government is through the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Act. The Act, no doubt, contains a lot of pious provisions aimed at checking corruption within the socio-economic system; and the establishment of the ICPC with powers to investigate and prosecute offenders. The establishment of the EFCC with similar powers are all directed at combating corruption. It must be noted, however, that these institutions deal with ex post measures. These measures are designed to improve detection, enforcement and prosecution of already committed corrupt acts. There is the need for systemic measures that would incorporate preservative approaches. In the education sector in particular, government has responded to the prevalence of examination malpractices, through the Examination Malpractices Act, 1999. In dealing with issues of sexual harassment and extortion of money from pupils and students, some of the institutions have been directed to establish ICPC units to work in liaison with ICPC to deal with these vices. In spite of these measures, these vices still persist in the system. It has been argued that this is largely due to lack of political will from leadership at all levels. There has never been a strong desire to enforce the law and policies to combat these vices by leadership at all levels. In effects, the fight against corruption cannot be left alone to the political leadership if we must succeed. There is a need to adopt measures that are all inclusive in nature. This would require the involvement of the private sector and the civil society in partnership with the government. In adopting this approach, we must consider the particular type and the main determinant of corruption with the system to enable us confront it effectively. This is important because understanding the very nature and causes of corruption in a particular socio-economic environment will to a great extent assist in designing measures to combat it. It should be the responsibility of the political leadership, stakeholders and the civil society to work together in the implementation of the measures designed to combat corruption. For instance, there is no amount of rules that would be made against examination malpractices in the schools that would be effective without involvement of parent and other stakeholders. Today parents at times help students to pass examinations and or acquire certificates by all means in defiance of all rules. This is the case from the primary, post primary and even to tertiary levels. This raises the need for general societal involvement in the effort to combat corruption in the education sector. At this juncture, we should consider the issues of the kinds of measures suitable for dealing with the types of corruption prevalent in the education sector. As noted the major types which impact negatively on the system are; misappropriation of funds through the award of contracts, and mismanagement of funds for purposes that are not primary to the needs of the system; examination malpractices in all forms including sexual harassment. Dealing with this no doubt we require an integrated and comprehensive approach that will involve the government, stakeholders and the civil society and an effective Senate and an upright Vice Chancellor. Specifically, the ASUU/FGN Agreement 2009 which is meant to address under-funding and rot in the education sector will if properly and faithfully implemented address some of these unethical issues associated with the under-funding. Furthermore, in addressing the issues of examination malpractices, there is a need for proper social re-orientation in the primary and post primary schools system. The present absence of boarding facilities and the disciplinary impact it has on the students must be urgently addressed. There is therefore the need to urgently reintroduce the boarding system in our public post primary schools system and ensure that many of our undergraduates live on campus for the system to pass through them. 7.0 Conclusion Corruption in our tertiary institutions has taken several forms and dimensions and has impacted negatively on our institutional development goals and objectives. The recent FGN/ASUU Agreement contains the resolve to address these issues through the creation of the University Monitoring Committee which has membership drawn from all the stakeholders in the system €“ Council, Senate, Congregation, students unions. ASUU on its part has to through seminars and workshops is to enlighten the students on their rights to challenge any unethical conduct by staff and management. We shall embolden the students to report all enthical cases to the union and the university administration for the necessary disciplinary measures and shall assure them of necessary protection and victimation. We expect that parents and sponsors should take greater interest in monitoring their wards as regards their operational environment. Some hardly stay in school only surfacing during examination periods. Some live in environment that despicable. They should take interest in the quality of instructions their wards receive at school. They should lobby government to better fund education, as this is the most accepted and tested means for social mobility. Once more may I thank the organiser for giving me the chance to address this august gathering and all of you for giving me the audience. Thanks and God bless. Prof. Ukachukwu Aloy Awuzie Dean, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Imo State University, Owerri. |
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COMBATING FRAUD, CORRUPTION AND LOSS OF RESOURCES
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