KYRGYZSTAN TODAY Policy briefs on - Department of Geography
KYRGYZSTAN TODAY Policy briefs on - Department of Geography
KYRGYZSTAN TODAY Policy briefs on - Department of Geography
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Erkaim Mambetalieva,<br />
Candidate <strong>of</strong> Political Science<br />
Corrupti<strong>on</strong> in Higher Educati<strong>on</strong>:<br />
Sources, Scale and Soluti<strong>on</strong>s<br />
Corrupti<strong>on</strong> has become a global problem. It poses a serious threat to social stability<br />
and security and undermines democratic instituti<strong>on</strong>s and values, ethical values and the<br />
rule <strong>of</strong> justice, as well as damaging sustainable development and law and order.<br />
In Kyrgyzstan, corrupti<strong>on</strong> is <strong>on</strong>e <strong>of</strong> the most urgent issues because it hinders<br />
the soluti<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> most <strong>of</strong> the crucial ec<strong>on</strong>omic and political tasks. It also tarnishes the<br />
reputati<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> authorities am<strong>on</strong>g citizens, and leads to social degradati<strong>on</strong> by blemishing<br />
the image <strong>of</strong> our country in the modern world.<br />
According to the Informati<strong>on</strong> for Democracy Foundati<strong>on</strong> (INDEM), the spread <strong>of</strong><br />
corrupti<strong>on</strong> in the former Soviet countries has reached a major scale in a short period [12].<br />
A number <strong>of</strong> financial, political and moral c<strong>on</strong>sequences <strong>of</strong> corrupti<strong>on</strong>, which have<br />
grown rampantly in our country in recent decades, has become intolerably obvious and<br />
dangerous for our political system and further development. As a result, the need for<br />
strengthening anticorrupti<strong>on</strong> measures and increasing their efficiency is not <strong>on</strong>ly a legal<br />
issue, but it is also <strong>on</strong>e <strong>of</strong> the most pressing political issues. This situati<strong>on</strong> is aggravated by<br />
the fact that corrupti<strong>on</strong> has also pervaded the system <strong>of</strong> higher educati<strong>on</strong>, jeopardizing<br />
all areas <strong>of</strong> human activities in the future.<br />
Corrupti<strong>on</strong> in Higher Educati<strong>on</strong><br />
Corrupti<strong>on</strong> has permeated all areas <strong>of</strong> public life, which makes it more difficult to<br />
counteract this phenomen<strong>on</strong>.<br />
One area where corrupti<strong>on</strong> wreaks havoc is educati<strong>on</strong>. Corrupti<strong>on</strong> cases in higher<br />
educati<strong>on</strong> facilities are well represented in the mind <strong>of</strong> the public. Although such cases are<br />
extensively covered in the media, there are no accurate data about the scale <strong>of</strong> bribe-taking<br />
in universities. As revealed by sociological surveys <strong>of</strong> university students in Bishkek and<br />
Osh, most resp<strong>on</strong>dents had been involved in corrupt deals with their instructors.<br />
According to some estimates, educati<strong>on</strong> today is number three <strong>on</strong> the list <strong>of</strong> most<br />
corrupt areas <strong>of</strong> social life. Corrupti<strong>on</strong> in this field is a particularly grave, complex<br />
and multi-layer issue, which touches up<strong>on</strong> the educati<strong>on</strong>al comp<strong>on</strong>ent and university<br />
management 1 .<br />
1<br />
Sociological research <strong>on</strong> Impact <strong>of</strong> corrupti<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong> business activities c<strong>on</strong>ducted at the behest <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Kyrgyz Nati<strong>on</strong>al Agency <strong>on</strong> Corrupti<strong>on</strong> Preventi<strong>on</strong> and Business Associati<strong>on</strong> C<strong>on</strong>gress, supported by<br />
GTZ (Bishkek, 2006).<br />
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