Photos of students wearing ‘anti-cheating hats’ during college exams in the Philippines on October 20 are going viral on social media. How complicated is cheating in countries all over the world?

College in Legazpi City asked students to use any headdress that would prevent them from looking at their classmates’ answers.

Hats made out of cardboard, egg boxes, and other recycled things, goggles created with paper tubes, helmets, and Halloween masks — students used all kinds of improvised tools to not have any opportunity to cheat.

Since the creative way of ensuring honesty at the exam was posted on Facebook, it went viral.

Professor Mandane-Ortiz who inspired Filipino students admitted that they performed better this year, many of them finished their tests early, and, more importantly, none of them got caught cheating.

How do students cheat on exams in different countries?

In Italian schools, teenagers use creative ways to write off. ’In high school, there were serious consequences if you were discovered. So people got creative, there were secret signs to indicate ‘a’, ‘b’ or ‘c’, and little notes almost everywhere (the dictionary, pencil case, under your shoes). The craziest one I remember is when someone cut a hole in the shape of a phone in a school dictionary, so they could google stuff during the test. Teachers took away of phones, kept walking around the classroom, changed the order of the answers, and even gave us different tests,’ – explains Thomas More Communications program student from Italy, Emilia Podurgeil.

In Japan cheating is considered disrespectful to others.’ Japan itself is a country that values politeness and respects it more than any other country. Taking that into account students rarely have the thought of cheating. In high schools during exams, sometimes the teacher leaves the room so that It doesn’t give students additional stress. As how Japanese society works they follow the rules, and laws and almost never break them,’ – tells Tomislav Hrastic, Thomas More student from Business for events program, who studied in Japan in high school.

Cheating in Russia is punished strictly.’ It is almost impossible to cheat on final exams in Russia. Everyone has to pass through the frame with metal detectors, and police officers with dogs carefully ensure that no device is carried. The exam is written under the cameras. Paper cheat sheets can only be viewed in the toilet, but you need to be careful there. There you can meet fake students who stand there on purpose and then catch you. If you get caught, you cannot graduate and have to retake the exam in a year,’ – claims exchange student from Russia, Anastasia Kalugina.

Text: Daria Tolbatova
Photo: Anna Koliadnaia