Three students taking a medical and dental faculty entrance examinations in Rangsit University, Thailand have been caught cheating using high end gadgets.
The examination was conducted May 7 and 8, where 3,000 students took the test, has been cancelled after the discovery of an organized modus to cheat. Although cheating has been a long-time problem in Thailand, this group has taken to another level by using high-tech gadgets, the Associated Press reported.
Students Caught Cheating With High-Tech Devices
The three female students caught cheating were not alone and were working with a group. Another three people who posed as students reportedly wore eyeglasses embedded with a camera to take pictures of the test paper, as seen in the photo CNN posted.
The three people went out after sitting in the exam room for 45 minutes, which is the minimum time an examinee is required to sit in. After going out, they gave the data from the glasses to another group with a laptop waiting outside the testing rooms.
The data was then sent to the problem solving team. This group is composed of experts in different fields. School officials believe that the problem solving team is composed of many individuals to finish the test on time, CNN reported.
Questions in the exam were answered by the experts and data containing the answers were sent to smart watches worn by the students still taking the test. Photos of the confiscated smart watches displaying test answers were shown by the University Officials.
Review Package Reportedly Assisted Students To Cheat
Test makers were immediately alerted of the scam. The first watch was confiscated on Saturday morning, while the second watch was taken Saturday afternoon. School officials got the third watch and glasses the next day.
The aspiring medical school students were reported to be enrolled in different private review centres. All of them availed of a package that offered guaranteed passing for the exams. The package reportedly costs 800,000 baht (approx. $23,000).
Due to the rampant cheating incidences, Thai schools have created creative ways to combat dishonesty. Chulalongkorn University used overhead cameras to monitor examinees. Anti-cheating hats, a headband with two A4 papers on the side, were used by Kasetsart University.
One of the parents of the students caught cheating said that he did not know of the modus. School officials then questioned the student's ability to pay the tutorial fee on her own. All of the three cheating students were banned from the University and were not included in the retaking of the exams.
