Starting This Year, Medical School '6 Years of Clinical Study' Allowed... Universities Prohibited from Discriminating Against Reservists

Revision of Enforcement Decree of Higher Education Act
Elimination of Barriers Between Pre-Medical and Medical Courses
No Distinction Between University Departments and Faculties

The government has decided to integrate the medical school curriculum, which is currently divided into a 2-year pre-medical course and a 4-year medical course, to eliminate barriers within universities. Additionally, provisions ensuring the learning rights of university students will be specified, such as preventing reservists from being disadvantaged in attendance and grade processing.

On the morning of the 13th, the Ministry of Education announced that three items, including the amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Higher Education Act, university establishment and operation regulations, and the amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Early Childhood Education Act, were reviewed and approved at the Cabinet meeting.

With the amendment to the enforcement decree, medical school classes, previously divided into pre-medical and medical courses, can now be autonomously designed and operated by universities within a 6-year framework. The amendment aims to expand practical training, which was mainly taught to medical students, to pre-medical students, and allow pre-medical students to take liberal arts courses, which they mainly studied, throughout all six years.

Until now, medical students attended liberal arts lectures such as natural sciences and humanities during the 2-year pre-medical course after admission, and then took core subjects like anatomy, biochemistry, and pathology during the 4-year medical course. In particular, hospitals have not used pre-medical grades for selecting interns and residents, highlighting the significant academic burden gap between the pre-medical and medical periods.

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Measures to eliminate barriers between departments and faculties will also be implemented in general universities. The Ministry of Education has abolished the principle of having separate departments and faculties within universities, allowing universities to freely establish departments, faculties, or equivalent organizations in their academic regulations. Universities will be able to organize their structures in various ways, such as creating interdisciplinary departments or integrating student admissions. Furthermore, the restriction that allowed course transfers only for students in their second year or above will be lifted, permitting first-year students to transfer as well. The amendment also includes the abolition of the regulation requiring full-time professors to teach at least 9 hours per week.

New provisions have been established to guarantee the learning rights of enrolled university students. When reservist students experience class absences, universities are required to provide related materials or offer supplementary classes, and ensure that reservists are not disadvantaged in attendance and grade processing. These obligations to protect learning rights are explicitly stated in the enforcement decree. Additionally, the approved amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Early Childhood Education Act includes provisions allowing teachers to guide young children through advice, counseling, warnings, discipline, and admonition.

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