DUSHANBE, January 9, 2012, Asia-Plus  -- Teachers will take bribes until students offer them, Farhod Rahimov, First Deputy Minister of Education, told reporters on January 9.

“Ignorant students will always be the source of unearned income for teachers,” said Rahimov, “It is the law of life”

“If students do not offer money, teachers will not take them,” said Minister of Education Abdujabbor Rahmonov, “Therefore, both sides are to blame.”

According to him, the issue of corruption in the education sector was discussed at a meeting of the Board of the Ministry of Education on January 8.

“We realize that wages of teachers working with high schools are low, but lecturers at higher educational institutions today receive up to 2,500 somoni per month.  Besides, they can also make money by writing articles and books,” said the minister.

Rahmonov noted that they received more than 13,000 applications last year.  “However, there was no any complaint regarding corruption among teachers among those applications,” the minister noted.

Meanwhile, the Agency for State Financial Control and Combating Corruption says that education along with public health is among the most corrupt sectors in the country.