A few days ago I had the pleasure of taking my final exam at university, thus ending five years of studies in one of the most reputable state universities in the country. It is, if nothing else, the oldest and the one that has thrown up a number of statesmen in this and previous governments. The way final exams are organised, however, suggests that not everything is noble and glorified.

In most majors you get to write a so-called thesis in which students examine a problem or an event depending on what they have studied over  the previous five years. To do that, the student needs to ask one of the professors to be his tutor. He or she is the person who will help you form the title of the thesis, its structure and tell you where to get information. He or she will also have the final view on it.

Once the thesis is completed all professors gather to decide who will read it. The person entrusted with this task writes a short review, giving good or bad comments and suggests a mark (on a scale of two to six, with six being the highest).

After all that, a date is set for all students to present their work in front of a committee of usually three to four professors, in the presence of the tutor and reviewer. None of the committee members have actually read the thesis, so the student is asked to present it within a period of three to five minutes.

While this presentation takes place, professors read the review to get an idea what to do. After the presentation ends, the student may be asked questions. It all depends on what committee members think or feel at the moment. After that the student is asked to leave so that the professors can award him or her a grade. The student is simply presented with the news of the grade with no chance to ask why it was given or change it.

And that’s it. I forgot to mention that students enter one by one while their colleagues wait nervously outside. This system has existed for several decades, serving professors’ privacy well.

Recently, it’s been mooted that this procedure could take place in front of a larger audience. Maybe other students could be present while their colleague is examined. Perhaps it’s a good idea to have anyone who wants to be there (family members, for example) allowed as well. Students go to such exams knowing little about what could happen.

It is only the tutor who can prepare them to some extent because students have never seen how the exams actually take place. If they are allowed to be present while other students, even those from other majors, are examined, then things could be different. Currently, decisions can be influenced by the internal relations between committee members and the particular tutor in question. This happens simply because everything happens behind closed doors. If exams are public, nothing like this would happen.