Education helps shape people’s future and our future as a continent. However, corruption, fraud and other unethical practices can weaken its quality and fairness – and erode public trust.

This week the Council of Europe’s Platform on ethics, transparency and integrity in education (ETINED), has brought together experts and stakeholders to promote ethical standards in education and stronger education systems. This work affects everyone. At this 10th plenary meeting, the platform looked back on its progress and set priorities for the future.

Fraud in education: policies, reporting and provisions

Discussions covered the development of guidelines on open-school-data policies in European education systems and a reporting methodology under the Centre for preventing and countering education fraud initiative. Participants also considered the relevance of the new Council of Europe Convention on the conditions of transparency and quality assurance for automatic recognition of higher education qualifications to ETINED’s work.

Delegates shared recent national and international developments and explored priorities for ETINED’s 2028–31 work programme, including continued efforts to prevent and counter education fraud.

First International Forum on transparency in governance of higher education institutions

On 15–16 October the platform held its first International Forum on transparency in governance of higher education institutions, bringing together policymakers, higher-education representatives, international organisations, researchers, students and other experts from Europe and beyond.

Building on Council of Europe collaboration with UNESCO’s International Institute for educational planning (IIEP-UNESCO) on open school data, the forum examined how transparency can strengthen accountability, public trust, student engagement and democratic governance in higher education. Participants discussed policies and practices for collecting, managing and sharing data on higher education, research and institutional governance, with a focus on ensuring data are accessible, relevant and meaningful to different stakeholders.

Through panel discussions and collaborative group work, participants explored shared principles for transparency in higher education data and considered how these could inform future Council of Europe work. The platform will issue a report on the forum’s main discussions and conclusions in due course.

 Discover more about the Platform on ethics, transparency and integrity in education

 Watch and discover more on how the Council of Europe is working against fraud in education

 What does the Council of Europe do in the area of education?