Pupils from an Indian school had to carry cardboard boxes on their heads during a chemistry exam. This was to prevent them from writing off each other, BBC Hindi reported. To the left and right, the view was blocked, only a large hole on the front of the box made it possible to look at the task.
This is shown by images uploaded to Facebook by an employee of the Bhagat Pre-University College in the state of Karnataka - which now caused a stir on the Internet. The journalist Zahack Tanvir also shared some of the classroom recordings:
Studentsin Karnataka India weremadetowearcardboardboxesduringan examat BhagatPre-University College in Haveritostopthemfromcheating.
What's your view? pic.twitter.com/AQtfV6ZimK
The Minister of Education of the State of Karnataka, S. Suresh Kumar, criticized the measure as "unacceptable": No one has the right to treat other people, let alone students, like animals, he wrote on Twitter. This "perversion" will have consequences.
This is totally unacceptable. Nobody has any right to treat anybody more so students like animals. This pervertion wants to be dealt with aptly. https://t.co/y69J0XcTA6
- S.Suresh Kumar, Minister - Govt of Karnataka (@nimmasuresh) 18 October 2019School director MB Sateesh emphasized in retrospect to BBC Hindi that the measure was only a test run. The participation was voluntary, students had participated only with the permission of their parents.
Out of 72 students, 56 had written the intermediate exam with cardboard shutters. The boxes would have brought them home, many would have dropped them after 15 to 30 minutes, the director said. Meanwhile, the school has apologized for the action.
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Quirky pictures and news from schools in India are not uncommon: Again and again in the country cases of some bold attempts of fraud known. For example, in 2015, dozens of parents attempted to climb up a school building to pass test solutions through the windows to their children. Indian students are under great pressure to write good final exams. Of their grades depends on whether they get one of the tight places.
