More than 9 million students are taking university entrance exams in China on Friday, and test overseers are so worried about the chance for cheating that they’ve announced some bizarre policies: Women, don’t wear bras with metal clasps.
The reason?
To root out “wireless cheating devices,” the state-run media outlet, Global Times, reported.
University exams — called the gaokao — are competitive, to say the least. Scores determine the path of students for their lifelong vocations, and 9.12 million high-schoolers had registered for this year’s two-day test, Agence France-Presse reported.
But as the pressures to perform well mount, so do the worries about cheating, and Chinese authorities were taking steps to block any technological gadget that could transmit answers.
Criticisms of the uber-competitive tests have risen in recent years. Some say the government-mandated placement exams put too much pressure on students and are drivers of educational inequality among the nation’s youth.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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