Joint Medical Meeting Scheduled on the 2nd... Likely to Announce Position
6 out of 13 Medical Schools in the Capital Region Have 'Dean Approval Authority'
Seoul National University College of Medicine became the first among 40 medical schools to approve a 'collective leave of absence' for medical students, drawing attention to whether this will become a turning point for other schools to also approve leaves of absence.
According to the medical and education sectors on the 2nd, the Korean Medical Association, the Korean Association of Medical School Professors (KAMC), the Emergency Committee of Medical School Professors, and the Korean Association of Medical Colleges and Medical Schools (KAMC) plan to hold a joint meeting in the afternoon to announce their stance on the approval of leaves of absence. In particular, KAMC, an organization of medical school deans, recently requested the Ministry of Education to allow university authorities to approve leave of absence applications.
On January 16, when student representatives decided to submit leave of absence applications together in protest against the government's plan to increase medical school quotas by 2,000, a red light was on at a traffic signal near a medical school in Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@
Earlier, Seoul National University College of Medicine collectively approved the first semester leave of absence applications from medical students on the 30th of last month. The government has maintained its position that it cannot approve the 'alliance leave of absence' by medical students, making this the first case of a medical school approving such leave. It is known that Seoul National University College of Medicine judged that even if students who had not attended classes so far return now, it would be difficult to complete all the coursework for the first and second semesters by February next year.
In the case of Seoul National University College of Medicine, the authority to approve leaves of absence lies with the dean according to the school regulations, so the dean was able to approve the leave. There are also prospects that other medical schools may approve leaves of absence starting from Seoul National University. The Emergency Committee of Professors at Seoul National University College of Medicine issued a statement the day before, saying, "We expect other medical school deans and presidents to soon take the same measures." According to Asia Economy’s review of the school regulations of 13 medical schools located in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon, six schools including Seoul National University have the authority to approve leaves of absence vested in the dean.
However, a medical school official said that many schools lost the dean’s authority to approve leaves of absence early in the medical students’ 'alliance leave of absence.' A representative of the Emergency Committee of Medical School Professors explained, "Even if the school regulations traditionally grant the president the authority to approve leaves of absence, it has been delegated to the dean. When students applied for leave early this year, it is understood that the delegation authority was withdrawn."
The government has taken a tough stance on Seoul National University College of Medicine’s approval of leaves of absence. The Ministry of Education stated, "This is a very unjust act that betrays the university’s fundamental responsibility to educate and nurture students as medical professionals," and announced plans to immediately conduct an on-site audit to verify the facts. It added, "If serious faults are found, we will strictly hold those responsible accountable and correct any mistakes." In response, a medical sector official criticized, "It is unreasonable for the government to interfere with the university’s inherent authority decided by the university president and dean," calling it "an anti-democratic mindset and administration."
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