Allegations of bribery, corruption and sex in universities

Allegations of corruption and immorality within the Congolese university community have been aired in a new book by Kutumisa Kyota, a former education minister and current professor of languages at the University of Kinshasa.

In Lutte contre la corruption en milieu de l’enseignement supérieur et universitaire congolais – Fight Against Corruption in the Congolese Higher Education and University Environment – he claims that a major reason for corruption in the university community is the excessive number of students, reported Radio Okapi, which broadcast an interview with the author.

“It isn’t normal for a teacher to be able to supervise 1,000 to 2,000 students. It’s not humanly possible,” said Kyota, who added that the surfeit of students always led to favouritism and to bribery of teachers.

Kyota, who was education minister from 2001 to 2003, proposed lowering student numbers to a controllable level to guarantee efficiency during examinations and academic deliberations.

Action against corruption should be made first at a political level, he said, adding that the country could emerge only if a serious effort was made to combat it.

Radio Okapi also broadcast an hour-long debate on fighting ‘immorality’ in Congo’s universities. Observers deplored corruption that allowed some students to get good passes through bribery.

According to several witnesses, said Radio Okapi, certain teachers at academic institutions entered ‘amorous relationships’ with some female students who in turn were awarded good marks.

Radio Okapi presenter Jody Nkashama discussed the consequences of such practices and how to combat them with To Day Tupandi, director general of the Institut Supérieur d’Informatique, Programmation et Analyse, and Aimé Kayembe, director general of the Université Libre de Matadi.

* This article is drawn from local media. University World News cannot vouch for the accuracy of the original reports.