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By James FitzGerald<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BBC News<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Images of students wearing so-called “anti-cheating hats” during college exams have gone viral on social media in the Philippines, sparking amusement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Students at one college in Legazpi City were asked to wear headgear that would prevent them peeking at others’ papers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many responded by creating homemade contraptions out of cardboard, egg boxes and other recycled materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their tutor told the BBC she had been looking for a “fun way” to ensure “integrity and honesty” in her classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mary Joy Mandane-Ortiz, a professor of mechanical engineering at Bicol University College of Engineering, said the idea had been “really effective”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was implemented for recent mid-term exams, which were sat by hundreds of students at the college in the third week of October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prof Mandane-Ortiz said her initial request had been for students to make a “simple” design out of paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She was inspired by a technique reportedly used in Thailand some years previously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2013, an image went viral appearing to show a room of university students in Bangkok taking test papers while wearing “ear flaps” – sheets of paper stuck to either side of their head to obscure their vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prof Mandane-Ortiz said her engineers-in-training took the idea and ran with it – in some cases innovating complex headgear in “just five minutes” with any junk they found lying around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Others donned hats, helmets or Halloween masks to fulfil the brief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A string of the professor’s Facebook posts – showing the youngsters wearing their elaborate creations – garnered thousands of likes in a matter of days, and attracted coverage from Filipino media outlets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They also reportedly inspired schools and universities in other parts of the country to encourage their own students to put together anti-cheating headwear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prof Mandane-Ortiz said her tutees performed better this year, having been motivated by the strict examination conditions to study extra hard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of them finished their tests early, she added – and nobody was caught cheating this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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