Academic Corruption in Zambia

Corruption is one of the fastest spreading crimes in the country of Zambia. It has a multi-dimensional dynamic, spreading from person to person across space and from generation to generation across time. The cross-generation spread of corruption is indicated by the rise in Academic Corruption mainly in the form of the infamous "Leakage" of examination documents. This particular form of the vice involves children as young as twelve or thirteen years who buy and sell final examination papers for Grade seven, nine and twelve  finals. The scourge continues even into college and university life and will definitely form part of the basis for a corrupt life in adulthood.  

The raw source for the examination "Leakage" is undoubtedly adult members of the educational fraternity who sell these documents to the young children who then also resell these to their fellow children. The syndicates also involve parents who sometimes pay for the leakage themselves and small businesses that have photocopying equipment who earn quite a profit from reproducing the documents. Then there are the invigilators who may also collude with either the children or their fellow teachers to turn a blind eye to the cheating activities of the children or at worst actually assist in the process during examinations. "Leakage" are the cause of a number of arrests of children and adults by crime fighting units such as the Anti Corruption Commission and the Zambia Police Service. This experience is both traumatising and stigmatising for the children and definitely shortens their productive contribution to national development. Leakages are a major cause of distortion in the results coming out of the final examinations. Hardworking children are disadvantaged by the disproportionately excellent results of the fraudsters. Children who pass well due to their hard-work and good study habits are tarnished by those who steal this status through laziness and corruption.

Schools are also either unfairly tarnished or falsely glorified due to the "Leakage". In the one case the good image a good school can easily become eroded by one or two revelations of cheating by pupils. On the other hand, a sub-standard school may gain the appearance of being a good school due to the false results of its graduates who cheat on their finals. Economically, the "Leakage" phenomena leads to much financial resources being spent on securing the final exams through the use of high-tech security methods and deployment of extra security personnel. Perhaps the greatest damage to the nation is inflicted by the process of defiling the minds of children and youth who are both today's and tomorrow’s citizens and leaders. 

Corruption in children is a  social-economic and political time-bomb forming to explode into uncontrollable levels of corruption. The situation may lead to the evolving of a generation that accepts corruption as a normal culture, further sinking the country into an ungovernable crime-ridden quagmire. Children and youth will normally look to adults as role models for everything including survival mechanisms. When corruption is taught to the children as a legitimate survival mechanism then the children will practice it with impunity and expect reward for doing so. Countries that have reached such levels find themselves trapped in a bi-polar existence of extreme poverty and extreme wealth. 

In this kind of society the wealthy are those who manage to gain wealth illegally and they have to pay handsomely to keep themselves secure from the starving and dis-enfranchised masses. The poor on the other hand have to pay bribes to find jobs, stay out of prison and to simply keep alive. Disenchantment leads to dissent and breakdown of law and order. Children must know that corruption will destroy their lives and create an insecure environment for all. They must be made aware that the small corrupt steps they take today will lead to bigger more dangerous ones in the future. The children must see that they can stop the process of national self-destruction by refusing to participate in the vice of corruption.

 Zambia's children are the answer, changes in their attitudes will definitely lead to a society intolerant of corruption leading to equitable development and relative peace and security for all citizens.