Anti-cheating hats the talk of the town (update 2)

The room was small; the number of test-takers large. The solution: hats fitted with paper ear flaps to prevent cheating. Then someone took a photo and it was posted to Facebook... (Latest: Hat idea came from students)

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Saturday morning

Here is the latest from Bangkok Post reporter Lamphai Intathep.

KU staff say exam blinker hat idea came from students.

Senior academic staff at Kasetsart University (KU) have vigorously denied students in the agriculture faculty were pressured into wearing paper hats with blinkers to prevent cheating in an exam.

Nattadon Rungruangkitkrai, a lecturer at KU’s Agro-Industry Faculty, told a press conference yesterday that it was the students themselves who suggested the hats, and none had been forced to use them.

Mr Nattadon said the hat idea was among several methods proposed to prevent cheating.

The students made the suggestions a week prior to the exam.

He said moral issues had always been added to class studies and he had also discussed with the students how to prevent cheating in the coming exam which was taken by almost a hundred students. The paper hat idea was selected by them.

‘‘It was an agreement between us. No student was forced to wear a hat. Instead, all were happy to do so and thought it was fun. They felt more relaxed during the test,’’ he said.

‘‘It was not meant to indicate that Kasetsart students often cheat on exams. I apologise if the photo makes other people look at my students in a negative way.’’

Mr Nattadon, who took the photo and posted it in a closed Facebook group, said it would be the first and last time the paper hats are used.

Update: Friday morning press conference

This morning, Dr Tanaboon Sajjaanantakul, dean of the Kasetsart University's Agro-Industry faculty, together with Ajarn Nattadon  Rungruangkitkrai of the Department of Textile Science (ภาควิชาวิทยาการสิ่งทอ), held a press conference to explain the controversial use of cheating-prevention hats that have been the subject of much discussion in the social media.

Ajarn Nattadon  said the hats were made after discussion with the students who were in agreement that the hats should be used to prevent possible cheating. No compulsion was involved he said.

Anti-cheating hats the talk of the town

The use of paper blinker hats like those worn by a group of Kasetsart University students to prevent them from cheating on a recent exam is not likely to become widespread.

Certainly not after the massive and largely negative reaction to the above photo which was posted on the Kasetsart University (KU) Student Administrative Board's Facebook page.

The image quickly went viral. There were more than 10,000 views on our own Facebook page within a few hours, and like elsewhere, most comments were negative.

"I'm speechless.......the issue of trust between students and lecturer," read one of them.

Elsewhere viewers complained that the blinkers looked humiliating and insulted the students' dignity and reflected badly on the image of the university.

Not all comments were negative, however, with some expressing sympathy for the single teacher in a room with so many exam-takers.

The KU student board later removed the photo from it's Facebook page and issued a statement apologising for igniting the controversy.

“We must apologise for causing differing opinions. We actually intended to make people look at it in a funny way.”

The board explained the anti-cheating hats were considered necessary because the room was small and many students were taking the exam sitting close to each other.

Rector Wuttichai Kapilakarn promised to look into the blinker matter immediately.

A press conference has been called for 10am this morning to explain what really happened.

Includes material for a story in today's Bangkok Post.