BRATISLAVA, April 18, (WEBNOVINY) — Education Minister Eugen Jurzyca (SDKU-DS) proposes as the only requirement for university graduation a defense of the thesis. Thus in the future, university students would not have to study for weeks for their final state exams, unless individual school rectors decide otherwise. “A school will be able to decide whether they will require additional exams, too, but in line with the law it would not have to,” stated the minister. He plans to incorporate the change in the draft revision to the University Act. The minister explains that it is a trend in the world, in the most successful countries. The ministry considers the defense of the school leaving paper sufficient prove of whether a student studied honestly. Jurzyca believes that the measure will increase the quality of graduation theses, as schools will be obliged to make them public. “A thesis has more importance as life will require a graduate to write something, to create something that will be defensible,” the minister added.
President of the Slovak Rector’s Conference Libor Vozar commented that such change would bring Slovak education closes to developed countries. On the other hand, former Education Minister Jan Mikolaj (SNS) insists that summarization of acquired knowledge in the form of final state exams is necessary. According to him, the prepared change is a simplification of the system that will not contribute to a quality improvement of university education in Slovakia.
SITA