[Guinean news] Crackdown on academic corruption

The IRIN news service reports on an unprecedented crackdown on academic corruption in Guinea.

It notes that for the first time in the country's history, professors have been suspended on charges of corruption and students have been fined or jailed for cheating in exams.

Higher Education Minister Ousmane Souaré, who was once part of a teachers' union, told IRIN, "Up to now these practices have been accepted. It was a system of utter disarray and carelessness and this had to be stopped."

During exams this year the common practices of buying crib sheets, accessing tips by mobile phone or having a friend take a test did not work: Many students wrote frantic notes to the education minister on their exam papers, or simply left them blank.

The minister instituted new procedures, such as banning cell phones and allowing only test takers to be on campus during exams.

[Guinean news] Conakry airport becomes a gathering place for students

The Associated Press did a story on how the parking lot of the Gbessia International Airport in Conakry has become a hub for students who want to study.

The airport is one of the few places in the capital where the lights don't go out.

[Guinean news] New bac unique debuts

Guinéenews reports that the first single nationwide baccalauréat was recently held for the first time since Gen. Lansana Conté's reign began in 1984. All high school students throughout Guinea took the same exam in the hopes of being awarded a high school diploma.

Education officials seized student cell phones during the course of the exam and returned them at the end.

Nearly 500,000 students took the bac, over 21 percent more than attempted it last year.

The new national education minister called for introducing a new spirit of "professionalism in the Guinean educational system to install a culture of merit, transparency and to give a chance to everyone."