Teach: Students made me cheatheat

A Bronx teacher turned in science papers for two students without their knowledge — and got busted because she plagiarized them.

Then she claimed the kids asked her to do it.

Melita Agbabiaka’s foolish scheme unraveled in September 2016, when an assistant principal at PS 302 noticed that essays by two students submitted for the science fair “were copied and pasted from Wikipedia,” according to an investigative report by the city Department of Education.

When informed that her students had faked their work, Agbabiaka (right) said she would have the kids turn in different papers.

But when the assistant principal confronted the students, “they had no idea what she was talking about,” according to the report.

The students asked Agbabiaka about it, and she told them she turned in the essays without letting them know.

Agbabiaka admitted she copied the Wikipedia entries, put the students’ names on the papers and turned them in, the report says.

Calling it a “lapse in judgment,” Agbabiaka “claimed she felt bad because the students had so much work,” and turned in their papers “because the students asked her to do so.”

Investigators found she also gave points to another student who left answers blank on a science Mea- sures of Studentudent Learning exam. The DOE largely evaluates teachers based on how well students do on the exam. xam.

Agbabiaka, who joined the DOE in 2012 and was not yet tenured, was immediately y terminated. She did not ot return messsages.