Mass medical student leave sparks curriculum, enrollment concerns

[Anchor]

With the government leaving the decision of medical students' leave of absence to the universities' discretion, it has led to a rapid approval of leave requests.

As a result, next year, we may see a situation where returning students and new students attend classes together in the same classroom.

In preparation, discussions are underway to shorten the six-year medical school curriculum.

Lee Yoo-min reports.

[Report]

At Korea University College of Medicine, over 500 enrolled students have applied for a leave of absence.

Just one day after the approval of leave of absence was left to the universities' discretion, the university approved all leave requests at once.

Yonsei University’s Mirae Campus College of Medicine has also completed processing leave requests.

[Choi Chang-min/Chairman of the National Emergency Committee for Medical School Professors: "Many universities have confirmed students' intentions to take a leave of absence through in-depth interviews, and they will approve the leaves sequentially."]

Excluding about 1,000 students who have already received leave approval due to military enlistment or illness, around 17,000 students from 40 medical schools nationwide will take a leave of absence simultaneously.

By avoiding a collective failure, the tuition fee of 14.7 billion won will either be carried over to the next semester or refunded.

The Ministry of Education has repeatedly emphasized that it has not permitted “alliance leave” in opposition to increasing medical school enrollment.

They also stated that to normalize medical education, universities will be allowed to shorten the curriculum by six months to a maximum of one year.

[Shim Min-cheol/Director of Talent Policy Planning, Ministry of Education: "We believe that by flexibly shortening it to 5.5 years or 5 years, we can prepare a curriculum for the students' education."]

However, there are currently no measures in place to address the situation where 7,500 students, combining this year's leave students and next year's new students, will attend first-year classes together.

[Parent of a medical student/voice altered: "It's already poor and insufficient, but if it becomes 7,500, can they really practice? There will probably be more students than patients."]

Medical students have stated that they will only return to school if the 'review of the increase in medical school enrollment' is a prerequisite.

The Ministry of Education has drawn the line, stating that since the admissions process has begun, it is impossible to readjust the enrollment for the 2025 academic year.

KBS News, Lee Yoo-min.