Upholding Social Integrity in Higher Education Institutions

Higher education institutions as seats for higher learning are expected to maintain high standards of social integrity and embed the same in routine academic and social operations. For this it is first important to highlight the types of malpractices that negatively impact a work environment and identify their causes. Moreover, it is incumbent to seek viable solutions to ward off such degenerative practices. One of the solutions is to involve statutory bodies, develop and enforce whistleblowing policies across academic institutions so that academic or moral corruption can be unearthed and properly investigated. Moreover, such policies should safeguard the identity of the whistleblowers and provide them with all kinds of organizational protection and security. Unless appropriate policy directions underlining strict and legal actions against the wrongdoers are not in place, such misconducts will continue to taint the image and integrity of academic institutions.


Introduction
Higher education institutions are expected to uphold high standards of academic integrity and respectful culture. Bretag (2017) highlights that academic grace and uprightness need to get manifested in all institutional operations including the human resource, academic programs and their procedures, institutional structures, policy implementation and governance structures. Saana et al. (2016) are of the view that workplace integrity in academia is a crucial standard to achieve and concentrated focus should be on elimination of academic dishonesty at workplaces. Academic integrity is thus a strong social entity that needs a presence in the overall vision and mission of any higher education institution. Christensen (2022) is of a similar view and states that academic integrity must not be restricted to the discussions on student misconduct and address all issues in academics ranging from history, research, curriculum, and pedagogy. Moreover, robust institutional mechanisms need to be put in place for strict adherence in matters involving social, moral, academic and financial malpractices. Guerrero-Dib et al. (2020), however, conclude that, higher education institutions being powerful social institutions sometimes fail to preserve social and moral safety protocols due to certain social evils that may include workplace harassment, social misconduct, bullying, academic frauds, financial derelictions or gender discrimination. It is therefore imperative that institutions raise awareness about such communal ills, encourage employees to follow prescribed mechanisms to report such malpractices and mandate strict actions against the aggressors through policy initiatives.

Types of Malpractices
Malpractices in higher education are not a novel occurrence nor are they a recently discovered instance. Denisova-Schmidt and Elena (2016) are of the view that degradation in tertiary education is not a novel notion. Globally, universities are striving to emphasize problems of integrity. This is because of the surging need to provide luxury, and profits to the masses by privatizing the institutions. Parnther (2020) is of the view that the growing drive to massively increase student numbers, run multiple degree programs without assurance of quality scholarship among instructors, ensure personal growth through low quality research and publications and practice financial misadventures to serve self or wrongly benefit the institutions are a few examples of institutional misconduct. Bachore (2016) conducted a mixed method research study on 20 instructors and 60 students at the Hawassa University, Ethiopia and proved that exam cheating and plagiarism were the most common features of academic dishonesty at the university. The reasons cited for the prevalence of such practices were difficult exams, time scarcity, irrelevance of course material, pressure to gate good grades and lack of clarity on policies and procedures set by the university pertaining to exams. The study also cited submission of assignments written by another source, copying material from a published source without giving credit and cheating from someone else during an exam were the top three unethical behaviors prevalent in the institution. Martin (2016) describes that malpractices, therefore, in one form or the other have already been in practice for years. They may take different forms but have prevailed in the education system since long. Among the various malpractices that shake the social fabric of any institution and negatively impact its poise, following are the key ones:

Workplace Harassment
Ngwane (2018) describes workplace harassment as persistent negative attacks on personal and professional performance, typically unpredictable, irrational and often unfair. Workplace harassment may include verbal or written threats or abuse, undesirable sexual advances, unpleasant emails or remarks on social networking sites, unwelcoming gestures or objectionable body language, exchange of crude jokes, unsolicited victimization, insults, unnecessary rumor mongering, or discouragement of a competent employee through constant criticism (Nielsen et al., 2017, p. 196). All kinds of workplace harassment have adverse effects on the victims. Henning et al. (2017) opine that harassment in tertiary educational institutes has long lasting and damaging effects on victims' health. Ekici and Beder (2014) report that workplace harassment leads to poor work attitudes, low performance and decreased productivity. Moreover, (Li et al., 2020) relate the experience with poor confidence and low self-esteem.
As stated by Hellstrom et al. (2015), bullying is also a common source of harassment and leads to the development of an unpleasant workplace culture. Bullying may be loosely defined as a coercive behavior by a more powerful person on a powerless being that may involve verbal or physical abuse. It may also take the form of regressive social acts such as social isolation or embarrassment meted on the victim. Bosetti and Heffernan (2021) point at another aspect of bullying that they label as incivility. This may involve venomous remarks, whispering comments, purposely misapprehending instructions or spreading stories. The researchers claim that this crucial shift in bullying must be acknowledged by university managers. Incivility is rising manifold and is difficult to stop considering the prevailing policies. The researches done in the field of education also report rising instances of bullying in academic institutions. Mourssi-Alfash (2014) reports a study based on data from 786 staff members at a university in the USA. The study claims that 35% of staff members have been intimidated with women reporting the highest instances of being bullied. On a similar note (Barratt-Pugh et al., 2018) consider workplace bullying as having a corrosive and negative impact on employees. Their study conducted on higher education academic staff of universities in Croatia and Australia indicates that despite well laid out policies, degrees of bullying remain ominously high and prevalent, with over one third of staff specifying recent bouts of bullying at work. Henning et al. (2017) opines that there are numerous causes that can be attributed to workplace harassment. Those academic institutions that lack a warm, democratic and open culture are more susceptible to such deranged practices. Moreover, institutions that do not promote an emancipatory approach towards work ethics and are autocratic may get entangled in such degenerative acts. Also, workplaces that practice coercive and authoritarian leadership styles may become stimulants for these unscrupulous practices. A culture where issues are openly discussed, people are valued, matters are rationally debated and problems are instantly solved is an indicator of a workplace system where human resource standards are work-friendly, robust and well-guarded. Saleem et al. (2021) cite a qualitative research study conducted on female university librarians of Lahore, Pakistan. The study has used in-depth interviews as a way of data collection from eight library female staff members. The findings reveal that females experience workplace harassment, both physical and psychological in nature. The research also reveals females' level of awareness about legislation and policies regarding workplace harassment. Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC, 2020) recently, has come up with strict and stringent mechanisms to control workplace harassment and has taken a serious stance to safeguard the moral code in institutions. A key move by the higher education regulator in the country, has enforced the HEC Harassment Policy effective from July 1, 2020. The said policy applies to all devious actions that may be taken by faculty members, students, office and administrative staff, and other members of the higher education and is candid about zero tolerance on such matters. The policy advocates penalties that may range from suspension to expulsion or termination of a member of staff upon confirmation of the crime through a designated inquiry committee. As outlined in the HEC policy, awareness campaigns need to become a regular feature for the information of all. Secondly, as indicated in the policy, the information about the same needs to be: -available on the website of all Higher Education Institutions (HEI).
-given to all the employees at the time of hiring.
-made available to all fresh incoming students at the time of orientation.
-printed in the prospectus of HEI.
-exhibited in the campus at key places (p. 12) On one hand, this may be viewed as a positive move by the government, on the other, further awareness needs to be raised about the existence and enforcement of such policies. Unless all employees are cognizant of the existence of such policies and feel confident to exercise their right to appeal, these policies become ineffective and futile with the passage of time.

Financial Malpractice
Brown and Minor (2015) have discussed various malpractices among different organizations and state that financial misconduct at the workplace is a dishonorable act that leads an institution towards a diminished status and shameful notoriety. Broadly speaking financial frauds in universities may involve frauds by misuse of financial resources, false representation, failing to disclose information, and abuse of position. A few financial malpractices may also include: Suitable measures need to be taken at the macro as well as the micro levels to ensure an atmosphere where fraud and misuse of financial powers are deterred, prevented and identified. Also, a viable mechanism needs to be developed where all incidents related with financial misappropriation of funds are judiciously inspected and necessary actions are taken in case the fraud is proven (Dwivedi & Tripathi, Dar & Asad 2017). Shore (2018) reports that the University of Auckland has established a "Fair Call" anti-corruption hotline system in response to the Auditor General of New Zealand's guidelines on measures for the prevention of fraud. The said service provides all university workforces with an autonomously monitored, external and anonymous service to report any apprehensions they may have about unethical, fraudulent conducts. HEC can adopt similar systems where financial malpractices are reported. For this it is vital for HEC to strictly first formulate Financial Malpractice Laws and then develop a mechanism for its enforcement. Also, it may be a viable idea to regulate financial practices through a core committee of senior employees and hold frequent internal and external audits to check financial transactions. Moreover, strict anti-corruption strategies in educational institutions like IT supported expenditure tracking surveys and social audits, public display of expenditure records can render help in controlling frauds. Furthermore, adherence to strict codes of conduct by all employees irrespective of seniority, community monitoring, well-established complaint cells, performance based salary reforms, procurement reform, and public financial management reforms are a few measures through which financial mismanagement and malpractices can be efficiently controlled. Muhsin et al. (2018) discussed that academic frauds in higher education have increased manifold over the years because of flawed and ill-conceived policies by statutory bodies, the mala fide intention to rise up the ranks through deceit and the general unwillingness to achieve academic and scholarly targets through sheer hard work and dint of merit. Academic frauds may include plagiarism, wrong reporting, cheating, impersonation and collusion or unauthorized collaboration. Chaminuka et al. (2014) define collusion as "an unauthorized passing of information between candidates in the form of scripts or notes (p. 81).

Academic Frauds
Among the academic frauds, the ones exercised by faculty to further their interests are the most regrettable and inappropriate. They may include plagiarism, research fraud through manipulation and misreporting of data and using erroneous reporting of names in research publications with the sole intention to increase the number of publications (Perkins et al., 2019).
Harvey (2020) describes a research scam as fraudulent presentation of data or misrepresentation of ideas in writing research findings. The researcher reports revelation of several research frauds conducted by senior academicians all over the world. This exposes the inadequacy of universities to conduct timely inquiries, as well as non-stringent measures taken by research journals and institutions to handle such frauds. Moreover, unnecessary delays in addressing such vital matters quash the seriousness of the crime. There is again a lot of data that reports research studies not being conducted at all, however, being published. Silva (2014) reports about one of the biggest scientific scams in Brazil in which Denis de Jesus Lima Guerra from the Federal University of Mato Grosso was terminated as he and his fellow researcher were blamed for misrepresenting atomic magnetic resonance information drawn back from 11 other articles. Dougherty (2018) describes plagiarism as another kind of academic fraud, is rampant in the academic industry and has taken deep roots in the system. It may involve using words, concepts, or information from a source without acknowledging it appropriately. Plagiarism is described in the dictionary of Oxford as a way to capture and use someone else's ideas, writing, or creation as one's own. Sprajc et al. (2017) refer to plagiarism as citing someone's work without acknowledgement, presentation of others' ideas as their own, and refraining from adding proper bibliography in work. Both students and faculty use it profusely at the cost of genuine learning and research. Jereb et al. (2017) also claim that plagiarism is rampant beyond doubt in the educational and research culture in higher education. Cortinhas (2017) discusses how universities around the world stress upon a research based approach towards learning, and emphasize the slogan of 'publish or perish' for academicians, sneaking out of the situation through such subversive acts as plagiarism is a natural corollary. Massification of educational research has added to the menace. The mass movement towards publication to win promotional credits, degrees or appraisals has spoiled the integrity involved in academic research. Denisova-Schmidt (2016) agrees with the phenomenon and states that researchers around the globe are obligated to publish as it is a key requirement for co-existence and progression in higher education. Without adequate knowledge of research, a rush to publish in limited time for certain gains, do research based assignments just for the sake of superfluous completion and award of a satisfactory grade have also accelerated the use of plagiarism in academia. Unless strict policy measures control such practices, heavy fines are incurred together with academic demotions upon the perpetrators, and public defamation, such practices will continue to haunt and Dar & Asad destabilize academia (Doghonadze et al., 2018).

Gender Discrimination
While discussing the important subject of social integrity at workplaces, a discussion on gender discrimination cannot be overlooked. Rajput (2019) highlights the problems of gender inequality and its consequences on the social uprightness and respectability of a workplace. This creates a compromised and tarnished image if the female workforce does not get equal rights and their issues are not given attention on the basis of equity and social justice. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO, 2012) has emphasized that gender inequality in terms of hiring procedures is inherently a traditional practice in the education system. The reasons behind such discrimination may be numerous. Important forces that give air to such prejudices are mainly the social and cultural value systems, norms and patriarchal minds that affect a typical working environment. Raza and Murad (2010) too stress that Pakistani women are discriminated against economically and socially due to cultural restraints. Such elements negatively impact a woman's internal will to work wholeheartedly and confidently and may develop low motivation levels and aspirations in them. They may also take less interest in work and compete less for higher positions because of male dominated environments. Eliadis (2018) reiterates the same and states that it is common for mid-career level women to refuse promotions to avoid unnecessary politics, chauvinistic attitudes, or challenges of work-life steadiness. Rani and Sinha (2016) claim that women regularly face social pressures, lack self-sufficiency and are disadvantaged than their male counterparts in many ways. A study conducted by Xu et al. (2021) reveals that female employment in Pakistan is lowest as compared to other regions in South Asia.
There are various factors that hinder women's employment such as social norms, additional responsibilities of house and scarcity of secure transport that causes obstacles for women from having the time to work. Javed et al. (2018) stated that opportunities for women in employment are judged based on their social class but also other aspects of their personality. Hence, it does not include their skills, abilities and qualifications. A study conducted by Kauser and Anwer (2015) has focused on all the factors that can impact the positive and meaningful participation of women in the employment industry. The study highlights the pressure and stress of working women to fulfill the dual responsibilities of work and home. The results indicate that diminished well-being, increased burden and apprehension levels, deprived physical and psychological health, emotional disequilibrium, increased edginess and exhaustion are common among working women.
The harsh reality is that women choose to accept this remorseful existence and seldom raise concern over the unfairness they encounter. The result is their consistent fallout from the labor force and better employment opportunities (Hasny, 2022). According to the Gender Gap Report, (2020), 53. Six percent of women are deprived of training, education, and service in Pakistan, in contrast to 7.4% of male population. Moreover, HEC's 2017-18 data reveals that out of a total of 47396 faculty members teaching in universities, 28.8% females are non-PhDs compared to 40.2% males who are non-PhDs and only 7.4% are PhD female university faculty members compared to 23.3% males. This reflects a clear distinction in the career pathways of male and female academics, and indicates that females may not attain growth patterns the same way as their male counterparts.
Research from various countries suggests that institutes that have increased representation of women at many senior positions tend to deliver effective organizational and financial performance, as well as improved corporate control. Post et al. (2021) state that in the workplace, equitable balance must be achieved for better workplace cultures and positive work environments. This will definitely usher in more confidence among the female workforce and ensure better professional attitudes among them. Provisions of day care centers, flexible work schedules, rapid systems to address grievances, are a few options that should be available to females at workplaces. Also, there needs to be strong networking among women employees who can act as a strong support group in times of need. Moreover, general awareness about ensuring equal work opportunities for females and addressing their issues on the basis of equity should be a popular agenda of conferences and seminars. Bae and Skaggs (2017) too suggest that gender diversity has a significant effect on women performance in organizations and that family friendly approaches are positively allied to the efficiency of an organization. Unless higher education institutions focus on building confidence and positive thinking among female employees and have female friendly policies, the workplaces will continue to fall short of achieving the desirable social standards.

Reporting Social Malpractices through Whistleblowing
Malpractices in institutions should not remain unaddressed and unchecked. There needs to be strong, ethical and acceptable ways of reporting all kinds of workplace frauds. One way to report such frauds is through whistleblowing. The International Labor Organization (ILO) describes it as "the reporting by employees or former employees of illegal, irregular, dangerous or unethical practices by employers." United Nations Convention against Corruption describes a whistleblower as, "any person who reports in good faith and on reasonable grounds to the competent authorities any facts concerning offenses established in accordance with this Convention" (UNODC, 2015). A whistleblower thus is an individual or employee who reveals information that the person believes is detrimental to the community or fellow employees in general. Acts that a whistleblower can report can be infringement of any law, decree, or guideline, unprofessional conduct, exploitation of resources, misuse of authority for own benefits; threat or authentic damage to the surroundings or any act which is detrimental to community wellbeing and tranquility. However, it is not easy to undertake a job of a whistleblower in the absence of strict laws and policies defending the actions of a whistleblower (Goldman and Rosenbloom, 2018).
Mesmer-Magnus and Viswesvaran (2005, as cited in Radulovic, 2017) claim that, "Whistleblowing seems to be greater in organizations that value whistleblowing and in those in which the whistleblower perceives a high congruence between personal and organizational values... potential whistleblowers who perceive a threat of retaliation (by the organization, immediate supervisors, or co-workers) are much less likely to blow the whistle than those who do not perceive a retaliatory climate" (p.280)." It is, therefore, imperative to have proper and effective policies in place to protect and safeguard the rights of a whistleblower and defend his/her act of whistle blowing. Iqbal (2018) states that legislatively at the federal level, Pakistan lacks in policy development and implementation to provide protection to whistleblowers. Universities around the world protect whistleblowers through acts of legislation. For example, Indiana University (USA) protects the whistleblowers through a policy statement that states that it provides protection to any associate of university population who in good faith exposes a malpractice or an unlawful behavior. Similarly, Fordham University has a clear whistleblower policy that encourages university legislative bodies, without the dread of retribution, to highlight apprehensions regarding alleged misbehavior, suspected misconduct or illegitimate practices while remaining unidentified (if preferred). Teachers College, Columbia University through a carefully designed policy supports and anticipates all affiliates of the college community to inform doubted waywardness within the college through supervisors or other recognized channels. Warwick University, too, in its whistleblowing policy statement encourages the staff and students to report their concerns about suspected wrongdoing as soon as possible for appropriate investigation. Likewise, many other universities around the world encourage employees to reveal fraudulent acts at workplaces and consequently ensure their safeguard, security and well-being through strictly devised policy measures (Bojko and Wach, 2021). It is strongly recommended to do the same in Pakistan and formulate whistleblowing policies through the Higher Education Commission and ensure strict compliance by both public and private sector universities.

Conclusion
Academic integrity refers to, "compliance with ethical and professional principles, standards and practices by individuals or institutions in education, research and scholarship". (Tauginiene et al., 2019, p. 345). All of this is reflected through faculty actions, programs, and the university's day to day actions. Adherence to the norms of decency gives rise to a vibrant organizational conduct through mutually dependent associations within the university and in the university's connection to the community. For this it is absolutely vital for every employee to have a moral vision and practice it across the board. Moreover, it is incumbent to inculcate the same principles among students. Abdalqhadr (2020) opines that development of university programs based on integrity and social responsibility are vital and must be integrated in the university culture. This will as a result shape and support the honest and responsible personality development of students. -Naumeca et al. (2018) discussed that maintaining the sanctity of academic institutions through statutory edicts, policy frameworks and implications, awareness building sessions, and mentoring are a few ways of ensuring the social integrity of workplaces. The study also suggests that higher education institutions should have clear, transparent and well-communicated policies to defend academic integrity before all stakeholders including assistance from digital technologies and virtual communication channels. For this it is important to develop policies that support and defend academic and research integrity and measures that promptly address allegations related to various malpractices. Also, in order to mitigate the likely risk factors that affect academic, research, financial or moral integrity, regular awareness raising sessions should become a formidable part of any university's operations. The staff and students should be adequately and regularly made aware of what constitutes academic, research and other kinds of misconduct or frauds and the resultant sanctions associated with such misadventures. At the same time the leadership of academic institutions should help in the development of good practices in maintaining acceptable moral and ethical standards. Moreover, it is equally important for the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan to formulate and enforce whistleblowing policy and help in the institutionalization of the same in all academic institutions. This will further help in articulating the seriousness attached with maintaining social integrity and providing the required support to the whistleblower. A holistic approach therefore is required to approach the subject and leverage its seriousness. Institutions sans moral up-righteousness are organizations without souls. Bertram-Gallant (2017) is of the view that educational uprightness is considered an essential feature of every academic endeavor and is fundamental to any teaching-learning situation. All institutions therefore must endeavor to accomplish the highest moral and ethical standards together with academic brilliance for long term sustenance and quality impact.