Bangkok’s Kasetsart University announced today that it has decided to end the use of its anti-cheating helmets.
A photo of the horse blinder-like device was first posted on Coconuts Bangkok yesterday. Shortly thereafter the post went viral as thousands of netizens commented and shared the photo.
The university said that its agro-industry faculty students had designed the headgear as part of an ethics lesson.
Natdanai Rungruangkitkrai, the course lecturer, said he seriously regretted that the issue had received such a strong negative response. He added that he had intended to teach the students about ethics and as part of the lesson he had asked them to think creatively about how to prevent cheating.
The students proposed different sets of exam papers and boxes, but they finally agreed to use A-4 paper blinders.
The students said they had seen similar headsets in other countries.
About 90 students agreed to the use of the blinkers and to make the hats themselves on the exam day.
Asst Prof Tanaboon Sajjaanantakul, the faculty’s dean, said the device was used for a mid-term examination for a textile testing course.
Tanaboon insisted that there was no cheating problem during examinations and the students were not forced to wear the hats.
“The students were excited and having fun. No one refused to make a hat. I admit that it has been stressful, so we decided to stop using this method and will talk with students to find other more acceptable ways to prevent cheating,” said Mr Natdanai to the Bangkok Post.
