If the professor refuses to take the bribe, then the student will claim the money landed there by mistake. Bribery attempts are not penalized. And that s good news for the violators because Ukrainian law is tough on bribe givers and bribe takers. According to articles 168 and 170 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code, the penalty for accepting a bribe is from five to 10 years in prison, confiscation of property and deprivation of the right to hold important governmental positions for five years. Peer pressure Corruption at the nation s universities isn t limited to students bribing teachers.
Many students turn to their peers for help when they can t pass muster.
Theses and research papers are available for a price. A term paper costs from Hr 20 to Hr 50 and can easily be obtained through the Internet or via advertisements hanging near universities. Education Ministry officials said the agency has no statistics about how common bribery is at Ukrainian universities, and the head of the higher education department, Mykola Dmytrychenko, was unavailable to be interviewed for this story. At most universities there is a code of silence, so complaints are rare. We are not a prosecutor s office or the police, after all.