- Riaz A. Malik
Group Editor National Herald Tribune & Member Board of Experts, Center for Global & Strategic Studies (CGSS), Islamabad
Corruption is a serious crime that undermines social and economic development in all societies. Not a single country, a single region, a single society is immune from corruption. Corruption is a global problem of our time, exists in all countries of the world. This negative phenomenon is not only a legal, social but also a political and moral problem. Corruption also negatively affects the rating of a state at international arena.
Eradication of corruption is the number one task for the Republic of Uzbekistan also and a number of measures aimed at preventing and countering corruption have been taken. The state is implementing a set of various organizational and legal measures in order to ?combat corruption. Particular attention is paid to identifying the causes and conditions conducive to corruption.
Emphasis is placed on the formation of an anti-corruption legal awareness in the society, that is, internal rejection of corruption in all its manifestations. In solving this problem, the key role belongs to educational institutions. At the same time, today the main task of the state anti-corruption policy is to form an internal conviction among each of the citizens of the country that being a corrupt official is not only dangerous, but also shameful, while on the other hand living honestly is profitable and prestigious.
Main causes of corruption in education sector are the following:
g Low level of training of applicants to secondary special and higher educational institutions, but at the same time the desire of parents for their children to study in prestigious educational institutions;
g Lack of motivation for students to study independently, which forces them to look for easy solutions when passing exams, obtaining diplomas, etc.;
g Insufficient wages of teachers and teachers of educational institutions, which leads to the search for an additional source of income, at the same time, low competence of teachers, which also affects the launch of the corruption mechanism;
g Inadequate funding for the education system. Not getting in sufficient quantities for the implementation of educational activities of financial resources, educational institutions are forced to seek other sources of financing.
In the Republic of Uzbekistan, a great attention is being paid to the issues of normative consolidation of approaches to the fight against corruption. Over the years of independence, a number of regulatory legal acts in this area have been adopted.
The Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On Combating Corruption” adopted on January 3, 2017 was a big step on the issue of combating and preventing corruption. With regard to the field of education, article 18 of this Law enshrines the rule on legal training and education in the field of combating corruption in educational institutions. On February 2, 2017 in order to implement this Law the Resolution of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan No 2752 was adopted, which approved the State Anti-Corruption Program for 2017-2018.
In 2018, 83 criminal cases were opened in Uzbekistan on corruption, fraud and abuse of power in the education system. According to the information and analytical multimedia center of the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 16 of them were committed in secondary schools, 31 – in universities, 36 – in colleges and academic lyceums. The analysis showed that basically the facts of corruption accounted for at the beginning of the acceptance of documents in higher educational institutions. During this period, 49 criminal cases have been instituted.
To ensure effective implementation of the state policy in the field of combating corruption, as well as eliminating the causes and conditions of corruption, the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On measures to further improve the system of combating corruption in the Republic of Uzbekistan” was adopted on May 29, 2019.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev during his meetings on May 24 and 28, 2019 with the heads of higher educational institutions, professors and teachers, as well as representatives of the scientific community, deeply analyzing the negative phenomena in the field of education, emphasized the danger of harm, noted that corruption is the biggest threat and the enemy number one for the entire education system. After all, it is a well-known fact that it is impossible to build a bright future for the country without training comprehensively highly qualified personnel.
But the population itself, mainly the younger generation, must understand that corruption is not a way to solve problems, but it is an evil that has destructive power, especially in the vital sphere, which has socio-economic importance in the development of the state-education sphere. In particular, in the educational institutions are conducted anti-corruption classes. Also, in academic lyceums and professional colleges are introduced special anti-corruption courses, which are based on an approved curriculum.
The Head of the Republic of Uzbekistan also instructed to strengthen anti-corruption topics in the curricula in general secondary, specialized secondary, professional and higher education. However, at the same time, it is necessary to include anti-corruption obligations in the employment contracts of employees of educational institutions, such as: “not to allow personal interest, which may lead to a conflict of interests”, “strictly observe the rules of professional ethics”; develop in educational institutions at the level of the Code of Ethics the basic principles of anti-corruption.
The development of such principles will allow the leadership of educational institutions to influence offenders, take administrative or disciplinary measures against those who violate ethical standards, including committing corruption offenses. In addition, one of the key tasks is the formation of the composition of educational institutions from experienced, honest and conscientious, responsible professors and teachers. It was expedient to create a “public council” at educational institutions during the entering process to the secondary special and higher educational institutions, conducting exams, assessing students’ knowledge.
There are also some technical measures to be used during the exams in educational institutions, such as the installation of video cameras, metal detectors, equipment that disconnects communications, online broadcasts.
The methods of overcoming corruption in education can also include the following:
g Strengthening criminal penalties for any, including minor cases of corrupt behavior;
g A real increase in salaries for teachers and teaching staff on the condition that they will not need to look for ways to earn money;
g Development of systematic program measures to overcome corruption at the level of an educational institution, which could include the increase of active citizenship, organization of public councils, development of student self-government. Most students are afraid to report about corruption, thereby covering corruption and contributing to the spread of corruption. Students with an open civic position in a developed student government will be less tolerant of corruption;
In a nutshell, the fight against corruption is nothing other than a struggle of citizens for their rights, for a responsible, honest and effective government, and ultimately, for a decent, safe, prosperous life.
