EDUCATIONAL CORRUPTION AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FALLEN STANDARD OF EDUCATION; A STUDY OF UNIVERSITIES IN BAYELSA STATE, NIGERIA
Keywords:
educational corruption, academic integrity, examination malpractice, Nigeria, fallen standard of educationAbstract
This study investigates the relationship between educational corruption and the fallen standard of education in Nigeria, with specific emphasis on four universities in Bayelsa state, a population of 4,400, and sample of 800. Educational corruption was conceptualized using four dimensions: examination malpractice, admission racketeering, certificate racketeering, and sex for grade, while the fallen standard of education was treated as a single-construct dependent variable. The study adopted a correlational research design. Data were analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation and multiple regression analysis. Findings reveal strong positive and statistically significant relationships between all dimensions of educational corruption and the fallen standard of education: examination malpractice (r = .731, p < .001), admission racketeering (r = .564, p < .001), certificate racketeering (r = .546, p < .001), and sex for grades (r = .482, p < .001). The regression results further confirm that educational corruption significantly predicts the decline in educational standards. The study concludes that corruption is a critical driver of educational decay in Nigeria and recommends institutional reforms, digital transparency systems, and stricter enforcement mechanisms.
References
Abel, A. (2024, January 8). Audit Fake Foreign Degrees, Prosecute Racketeers. Daily Trust E-PAPER. dailytrust.com
Adebayo, B. (2018, December, 17). Nigerian professors in sex-for-grade Scandal gets prison term. CNN. https://www/cnn/com/2018/12/17/africa/nigerian-professors-jailed-insexual-assault-case.
Adebayo, F. A. (2019). Examination malpractice and its effects on educational quality in Nigeria. Journal of Educational Research and Development, 14(2), 45–58.
Afe, B. (2025, August 28). The dwindling standard of education in Nigeria: The way forward (2). Tribune Online. https://tribuneonlineng.com
Akinadewo, M. (2025, April 22). Lecturers dismissed as LASUSTECH enforce zero tolerance on conduct. The Guardian Nigeria. https://guardian.ng/ news/nigeria/metro/lecturers-dismissed-as-lasustech-enforceszero-tolerance-on-misconduct
Alabi, M. (2020, September 23). Sex Scandal: Inside details of why Ibadan Polytechnic lecturer was sacked. Premium Times. www.premiumtimesng.com
Animashaun, S. (2025, October 16). Corruption goes beyond stealing money – ICPC boss. Punch. www.newspaper.punchng.com
Dakuku, P. (2025, July 20). What’s going on with education in Nigeria. Champion Newspapers LTD. https://championnews.com.ng
Emmanuel, A. (2026, February 10). Nigeria drops two places to 142nd in 2025 corruption ranking, trails 33 African Countries. Premium Times. https://www.premiumtimesng.com
ICPC (2025, August 7). ICPC Secures conviction of Edo Civil Servant Over…
ICPC (2025, December, 18). ICPC Chairman calls for stronger sub-National Anti-corruption systems at UN convention in Doha. https://:icpc.gov.ng
Independent Corrupt Practices Commission. (2022). Annual anti-corruption report. Abuja, Nigeria.
Khadija, S. U. (2025, December, 27). The fallen standard of education: A growing concern, Opinion Nigeria. https://www.opinionnigeria.com
Kingsley, E., Zulaihatu, S., & Ewehe, P. O. (2024). Corruption and Education in Nigeria.
International Journal of Human Capital Innovation Management. 1(3), 141-151.
https://pubjournals.com/IJHCIM
Mobolaji, S. (2026, January 17). Malami and a Society writing to be rescued. The Cable. https://www.thecable.ng
Mary, A.M., Suglo, K. E., & Samuel, O. (2026). Examination malpractice in senior high schools: Perspectives from first undergraduates. Examination malpractice in senior high schools: Perspectives from first year undergraduates. Journal of education and practice, 10 (1)
Odede, A. (2024, September 24). Beware! Illegal varsity admissions, racketeering on the prow. https://guardian.ng
Okebukola, P. (2020). The state of university education in Nigeria. National Universities Commission.
Okumba, M. (2022, April 01). Studies depict silence on campus “sex for grades”. DN.nation.Africa.
Omonijo, D. O., Uche, O. O., Nwadialor, K. L., & Rotimi, O. A. (2013). Sex-for-grades syndrome in Nigerian tertiary institutions. International Journal of Sociology and Anthropology, 5(7), 242–250.
Onozure, D. (2025, October 10). $4.5bn fraud: Court admits more exhibits against Emefiele. Punch Newspaper. https://punchng.com
Premium Times (2020). More than half of Nigeria’s education budget lost to corruption.
Sylvanus, P. I., Ifiok, E. D., & Idongesit, C. I. (2024). The blame game in the fallen standard of education in Essien Udim, Nigeria. International Journal of Education and Evaluation. 10(2), www.iiardjournals.org
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SARAP, 2013). SERAP to Jonathan: show leadership and end impunity for corruption. Serap-nigeria.org
Transparency International (2013). Introduction to the Global Corruption Report: Education,
New York, Routledge. https://transparency.org
Transparency International. (2022). Corruption perceptions index 2022.
Umar, A. (2023, December 30). Undercover: How Daily Nigerian reporter bagged Cotonou varsity degree in 6 weeks, participated in NYSC Scheme. Daily Nigeria. https://dailynigerian.com.
UNESCO (2014). Teaching and Learning: Achieving Quality for All. 11th EFA Global Monitoring Report UNESCO Press.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, adaptation, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors are permitted to post their work online in institutional/disciplinary repositories or on their own websites. Pre-print versions posted online should include a citation and link to the final published version in Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication as soon as the issue is available; post-print versions (including the final publisher's PDF) should include a citation and link to the journal's website.
