Reducing Petty Corruption in Schools in Africa: A Role for Faith?

Abstract Particularly in low- and lower middle-income countries, petty corruption remains prevalent in service delivery, whether in schools, health centers, administrative services, or other institutions. In reference to Pope Francis’ call to say no to corruption in his recent trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo, this article measures the extent of corruption in schools in Africa using data collected by the Afrobarometer. More than one in four respondents have encountered problems to obtain the education services they need for their children and nearly one in five have had to pay bribes or do other favors for education providers. This proportion does not appear to have declined significantly over the past decade. Regression analysis suggests that different household characteristics are associated with the likelihood of having difficulty obtaining the services they need and the likelihood of being a victim of corruption. Interestingly for this special issue, while faith affiliation does not seem to affect the likelihood of providing favors to obtain services, religiosity does appear to matter—and therefore so may faith leaders.