Over in India, the Bhagat Pre-University College in Haveri has come up with a novel and low-tech way to prevent student cheating, which is by placing cardboard boxes on their heads and cutting out a hole just big enough for them to see through. Unfortunately, this method has drawn the ire of parents and authorities, who felt that this might have impacted the dignity of the students involved.
According to S. Suresh Kumar, the state education minister, he tweeted, “Nobody has any right to treat anybody more so students like animals. This (perversion) will be dealt with aptly.” The school’s management head M.B. Sateesh, has since tried to explain the situation while issuing an apology, noting that this was a trial and that it was completely optional. It seems that the students themselves brought their own boxes and not everyone was obligated to participate. Parental approval was also required.
That being said, this is not the first time we’re hearing about extreme methods involved in preventing cheating. Last year, there was a report about how over in Algeria, the country decided to turn off the internet for a brief period to prevent students from cheating.