We first told you earlier this year that a number of universities in the UK were starting to treat watches the same as smartphones and other mobile devices when it came to writing exams. Students were asked to store their smartwatches and watches alongside their mobile devices in a plastic wallet under their desk in a bid to cut down on cheating. The Wall Street Journal now reports that Kyoto University is looking at imposing a similar move and will ban watches at entrance exams starting early next year.
A spokesperson for the prestigious university explained that the ban was “required in order to conduct a fair test.” With smartwatches increasingly indistinguishable from traditional watches, it is becoming increasingly difficult to know if someone is checking the time or looking up an answer.
Kyoto University will likely the first national university in Japan to impose such a ban. Its decision may be in part due to a cheating scandal that occurred there in 2011. A student then used a mobile phone to post questions on an online and obtain answers from its readers.
It is likely that more institutions will move to ban watches of all kinds as they realize that they can be used for more than simply telling the time now.
Source : The Wall Street Journal