German student uses the Freedom of Information (FOI) right to ask to see his question papers before exams
Exam preparation was taken to an unimaginative new level by a German student, Simon Schrรคder, aged 17, who used his FOI request to see his Abitur exam questions prior to the exam. However, on the other hand, this German student keeps revising his notes in the event his request is denied. His forthcoming Abitur tests is said to be equivalent of A-levels in the UK.
Simon Schrรคder, from Mรผnster, used the internet website fragdenstaat.de (โask the stateโ), to request the Education Ministry of North Rhine-Westphalia for โthe tasks of the centrally-made Abitur examinations in the senior classes of high school in the current school yearโ. He was explicitly invoking his stateโs freedom of information law.
Although Schrader’s first exam is on the 16th of April, he has set the Ministry the legally allowed one-month deadline to comply, which falls on 21st April.
โIf they answer in time it might fit for one exam,โ Schrรคder told the Guardian.
โI did think beforehand that they probably wouldnโt send me the exams,โ he admitted. โIโm already revising, and Iโm not relying on them to get back to me”.
โI thought it was worth a try; I just wanted to see what they would say.โ
The Ministry has been receiving numerous phone calls from reporters regarding the request. However, they only chose to say that the request has been received. โThe deadline will be kept,โ the spokeswoman Sylvia Lรถhrmann told Die Welt. โThe request is being processed.โ
The internet platform was set up by the Open Knowledge Foundation in order to assist citizens gain access to public information. The said site includes details of all the requests submitted by the public, alongwith the answers from authorities and comments from other users.
In a blogpost, the foundation said success was unlikely. According to the freedom of information law, โrequests will be turned down if they would โsignificantly impact the success of an upcoming administrative measure,โโ it said.
Schrรคder is planning to study Applied Information Technology from the university. He is currently studying Maths, Physics and English, and simultaneously working as a web developer.
Schrรคder has already received an job offer from another transparency-related organisation, the research website Correctiv due to all the media attention he got from his FoI request.
โIf I have time before university starts Iโll definitely do it,โ he said.