National University Professors "Medical Students' Leave of Absence Should Be Approved and Quotas Readjusted"

"Will Take Classes with Colleagues More Than Twice the Number of Garden"

Professors from national flagship universities across the country, including Seoul National University, have conveyed to the government their request to approve medical school students' leaves of absence and to readjust next year's medical school enrollment quotas.

Seoul National University Main Gate, Gwanak-gu, Seoul.
Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

On the 11th, the Federation of Professors' Associations of National Flagship Universities (Geogukryeon) stated in a press release, "Due to the government's policy to increase medical school enrollment quotas, each university is facing difficult educational challenges, and medical education has begun to collapse as student retention and increased enrollment coincide. As a first step to resolve these issues, we request the Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and the presidents of each university to approve medical school students' leaves of absence and allow them to return to school at an appropriate time."

They added, "As educational conditions have deteriorated at universities where enrollment has increased, if student retention also occurs, this year's freshmen will have to attend classes with more than twice the number of peers throughout the six years until graduation, which will lead to poor quality education."

They also expressed the need to readjust next year's medical school enrollment quotas. Geogukryeon said, "The government should reassess the enrollment quotas in consultation with each university based on the 2025 evaluation results from the Korea Institute of Medical Education and Evaluation, which reviewed the facilities, faculty recruitment status, and overall educational conditions of each medical school. Additionally, comprehensive measures must be promptly prepared to prevent disruptions in academic operations and the destruction of the academic ecosystem in non-medical colleges."

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