Medical Students Brace for 'Repeating a Year'... Universities That Held Out Resume Classes

Kyungpook National University and Jeonbuk National University Resume Classes from Today
Considering Collective Leave of Absence, Online Classes to Run Concurrently
Mid to Late This Month is the 'Deadline for Class Suspension'
More Than Half of Enrolled Students Have Applied for Leave

Amid opposition to the ‘increase in medical school quotas,’ medical students who had been boycotting classes have started to resume their studies from this week, after postponing classes since February. However, a significant number of medical students still have not returned to school despite the risk of failing.

According to the education sector on the 8th, Kyungpook National University College of Medicine will resume medical classes online and remotely for first- and second-year students. Third- and fourth-year students will begin clinical practice at hospitals starting from the 15th. Kyungpook National University had extended class suspensions five times since February 19, following the collective action decisions such as strike leaves by 40 medical schools nationwide.

Medical schools that had suspended classes due to student boycotts opposing the policy to increase medical school admissions are beginning to resume classes one after another starting this week. However, on the morning of the 8th, the lecture hall at Kyungpook National University College of Medicine in Jung-gu, Daegu, remained quiet despite the resumption of classes.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Jeonbuk National University College of Medicine will also resume classes on the same day. Jeonbuk National University will restart face-to-face lectures but will also offer remote classes for students who have difficulty attending in person. Like Kyungpook National University, Jeonbuk National University had postponed classes multiple times since February. Among 660 medical students at Kyungpook National University, 508 applied for leave of absence, while at Jeonbuk National University, 641 out of 665 students applied for leave.

The Enforcement Decree of the Higher Education Act stipulates that the number of school days must be ‘at least 30 weeks per academic year,’ which generally requires securing more than 15 weeks of classes per semester. Moreover, further delays in resuming classes could disrupt the academic schedule for the second semester starting in August. For this reason, universities have set mid-to-late this month as the deadline for the start of classes.

In addition, Catholic University and Chonnam National University will start medical classes on the 15th, Kangwon National University on the 22nd, and Chung-Ang University plans to resume classes on the 1st of next month. Gachon University reportedly began online classes from the 1st.

Although universities are resuming classes, the likelihood of medical students returning to school remains uncertain. Medical student organizations such as the Korean Medical Student Association have expressed their intention to request approval for their leave of absence applications and, if not approved, to pursue administrative litigation.

A lecture room at a medical school in Seoul is empty on the 20th, the day the results of the distribution of increased medical school admission quotas, which triggered conflicts between the medical community and the government, are announced. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Students who do not return to classes even after the suspension ends face a considerable risk of academic penalties such as failing the year. Most medical schools have regulations that assign an F grade to students who are absent for one-third or one-quarter of the total class days. Medical students who receive an F grade in even one subject are required to repeat the year.

According to the Ministry of Education’s tally of medical student leaves of absence, as of the 6th, 10,375 medical students have applied for valid leave. As of that day, 55.2% of all enrolled medical students nationwide have applied for leave of absence.