Computer screen too bright so student wears sunglasses during exams

JAKARTA: Rizky Amelia, a 12th-grader at a senior high school in Indonesia’s Banten province, never thought that she would sit her final examination in style – by wearing a pair of sunglasses.

After undergoing several try-out exams in the previous months, Rizky realised her computer monitor was too bright.

As mandated by the Education and Culture Ministry, the final exam is conducted using computers, known as the computer-based national exam.

“My eyes can’t tolerate being exposed to a bright computer screen for too long. I used the computer during the trial exams, so I knew this would happen,” news portal Kompas quoted her as saying on Tuesday.

“I asked my teacher, ‘Can I reduce the brightness?’, to which he replied, ‘No, you can’t’. Then he recommended I bring shades,” she added.

To avoid straining her eyes due to the computer screen’s brightness, Rizky had no choice but to wear the sunglasses so that she could take her exams comfortably.

“My friends were surprised; they laughed. Some said they were distracted,” she said.

She added she was not the only one who needed sunglasses to protect her eyes.

“A friend borrowed my sunglasses in the middle of a test, saying that her computer screen was giving her a headache,” said Rizky.

With the help of the sunglasses, Rizky was optimistic about her exam results.

“I was (initially) embarrassed, but that’s fine, I’m doing this for the test,” she said.

“I’m optimistic. I have a unique way (of passing the exam).”