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| Student wearing the anti-cheating hats |
Taking exams in a large group setting can be stressful for students and for the staff members who are watching over them.
When classrooms are crowded and desks are close together, cheating might be tempting.
One university in Thailand came up with an anti-cheating hat that makes it almost impossible for students to see other students’ papers.
A photo of the students wearing the anti-cheating hats made its way to the internet, and the university was criticized for making students wear those ridiculous looking homemade hats. The hats were made by stapling 2 pieces of paper onto a headband, one to each side of the head.
After being criticized, senior academic staff at Kasetsart University in Bangkok, Thailand, released a statement saying that the hats idea came from students.
They said that in a bid to prevent cheating they asked the students for ideas on how to prevent cheating in the upcoming exam, which was being taken by almost one hundred students. Students came up with different ideas, then the paper hat idea was selected by them as the most fit.
The university claims that no-one was forced to use the hat, but they all chose to do so. “When wearing the hat during the exam, students felt more relaxed,” Nattadon Rungruangkitkrai, a lecturer at the university said.
“It was not meant to indicate that Kasetsart students often cheat on exams. I apologize if the photo makes other people look at my students in a negative way,’ Rungruangkitkrai added.