Here is an early Christmas quiz for you. Your starter for 10 is on the subject of education. Fingers on buzzers.

What do the following have in common: Sir Patrick Moore, Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Dennis Thatcher, the President of South Korea, George Melly and George Best?

It is tempting to suspect that the real reason for an award is the amount of publicity it creates for the university

No-one? Right, here's a clue: It involves dressing up in odd-shaped hats and long, flowing robes.

You also get to join in ancient ceremonies, complete with processions and the pealing of bells.

Give up? Well, the answer is that all of the above have been awarded honorary degrees.

Legend footballer

The most recent was footballer George Best who stepped up - with a useful body swerve, no doubt - to collect his at Queen's University, Belfast, this week.

So what is an honorary degree? It is a bit like the riddle: What is highly-valued but worth nothing?

George Best now has an honorary degree

Apart from getting you invited to a rather nice ceremony and sherry afterwards with the vice-chancellor, an honorary degree is just that, purely "honorary".

As David Hockney reportedly said after receiving an honorary doctorate, it doesn't even allow you to write prescriptions for your own drugs.

But if an honour is scattered too widely, and given for the wrong reasons, there is a danger that there will cease to be anything valuable or honourable about it.

Honorary degrees have been around a long time. Cambridge gave one of the first in 1493 when it honoured the poet, John Skelton.

Changing values

For years the tradition was to honour members of the Royal Family, prime ministers, and others with a distinguished record in public service, science or the arts.

But more recently there has been a trend to offer honorary degrees to people who are either wealthy or influential, or both.

Universities need sponsorship these days and an honorary degree could either entice someone into involvement with an institution or be a way of thanking them.

One of the more unusual awards was to Sir Dennis Thatcher, husband of the former prime minister, who received his from the private university at Buckingham.

It was strange because, although a well-known figure, he had carefully avoided getting involved in politics or public debate.

Celebrities rule

Today celebrity status seems to be another category for nomination as an honorary graduate.

Those honoured in recent years have included the boxer Lennox Lewis, the children's TV presenter Johnny Ball, the golfer Seve Ballesteros, and the pop star Mick Hucknall.

Sir Paul: Another celebrity with an honorary degree

Sometimes universities want to honour a local person who has excelled in their own sphere even though it has nothing to do with the academic world. George Best falls into that category.

He was a wonderful footballer - I count myself lucky to have seen him in his glory days when Manchester United came to be trounced at Ipswich Town - but is an honorary degree really appropriate for someone whose prowess owed nothing to the lecture theatres and libraries at Queen's University?

PR exercise

Occasionally it is tempting to suspect that the real reason for an award is the amount of publicity it creates for the university.

Some individuals are garlanded with so many honorary degrees that it is hard to see the value of giving them any more.

According to the Guinness Book of Records, King Bhumipol of Thailand received no fewer than 136 honorary degrees.

The counter argument is that those who have worked for their degrees are often very happy to share their connection to an institution with someone famous whom they admire.

Thatcher snub

But of course not everyone agrees about who is worthy of admiration. In some cases members of a university get to vote on whether or not to award an honorary degree.

That was how, in 1985, Oxford University came to deliver its infamous snub to Margaret Thatcher in a protest over education spending cuts.

The key, perhaps, is who decides on the awarding of honorary degrees.

If the whole university, including current and former undergraduates, is involved in the decision it is hard to argue with the result.

OU approach

The vice-chancellor of the Open University, writing about his own institution's approach to honorary degrees, has argued that involving the whole university community "acts as a natural filter for 'chequebook awards' or other nominations that might expose the university to accusations of ulterior motivation".

I think it is hard to disagree with that.

If the students and staff at Queen's University want to honour George Best by giving him an honorary membership of the university why should anyone else object?

But these days universities operate in a very competitive market, seeking political help, commercial sponsorship and trying to get a publicity or marketing edge over their rivals.

There must be a strong temptation to go for a literally cheap publicity stunt or to suck-up to a big chequebook or influential politician.

If university chiefs don't resist those temptations, let's hope students and staff will make a stand to preserve the institution's integrity.