Academic Dishonesty in Ethiopian Higher Education and Its Implication for Corruption

Academic dishonesty is a fundamental issue for the academic integrity of higher education institutions. Higher education institutions are places where citizens are prepared for a diverse need of life and societal issues. Hence, for long time, university students were not only a pride for their family, but for all the vicinity. They were respected and were models for high school students. Moreover, the society expects very high academic integrity. However, against these social values, academic dishonesty has reached alarming proportions in Ethiopian higher education institutions. New forms of dishonesty such as cheating, plagiarism and other forms of dishonesty are challenges of the requirement of academic honesty and integrity in higher education institutions today. Students’ access to modern technologies, such as mobile phones, iPods, internets, scientific calculator has broadened the ways by which students can achieve the goal of dishonesty. Therefore, this article will explore the challenges of academic dishonesty in our higher education and it’s far reaching implications for corruptions. In doing so, the paper will explore the mode of academic dishonesty and suggests systematic and comprehensive efforts to promote integrity and prevent dishonesty, especially compatible with the advancement of technology.