Plagiarism rings running riot at universities

Despite mounting complaints to judicial authorities, plagiarism rackets that have been organized around Greek universities are reportedly continuing their activities unabated, writing students’ PhD theses, postgraduate dissertations and papers, for a fee.

Despite their expressed intentions to put a halt to these rings, authorities are finding it increasingly difficult to make an impact as the tools used for plagiarism are becoming increasingly sophisticated.

The issue has been raised by Deputy Education Minister Angelos Syrigos, who filed a formal complaint to the  Athens Prosecutor’s Office. According to the Panteion University academic’s complaint, these rings are active in the provision of services for the preparation and editing of papers in a variety of unrelated disciplines and fields (e.g. statistics, law, mathematics, literature, sociology, etc.).

This suggests that there is a network of experts, usually young graduates, working with each firm. They not only write papers for students to pass their courses but also contribute to blogs and websites.

In comments to Kathimerini, Syrigos noted that many of these companies use cramming schools, known as “frontistiria,” near universities as a cover for their activities.

Given that these transactions take place under the table and payments are made without a receipt, prices cannot be calculated with any degree of accuracy.

Reports from students, however, suggest fees of up to 500 euros. This varies depending on the size and difficulty of each project, as well as the student. Price varies depending on whether the paper is for an undergraduate course, a degree, or a postgraduate program. The cost is lower for a paper written by an undergraduate student for a freshman, for example.

The companies are mainly advertised online, with no shortage of individual ads posted inside universities.