ABSTRACT
The first steps towards multi-party democracy in the early 1990s were hard for Niger, and the government found itself unable to pay public sector salaries on a regular basis. 2 This financial uncertainty took a heavy toll on the education sector, and public servants and students alike were forced to find ways to survive. The easiest source of income for some public officials was to manufacture and sell fake diplomas and certificates, including for the Diplôme du Baccalauréat (BAC) and the Diplôme du Brevet d'Études du Premier Cycle (BEPC). 3 This practice quickly proved very lucrative, and it has scarcely abated in the two decades since then. Today the sale price of the BEPC is roughly equivalent to an average teacher's monthly salary (US$175), 4 while a BAC can be bought for twice that.
