Gov’t proposes starting new semester for med students in Aug

The government is deliberating on a plan to eliminate vacation for medical schools and carry on classes from August to February next year to prevent medical students who refused to take classes in protest of the government’s policy to prevent medical student quotas from repeating the same grade. Some believe that this measure hints that classes in the first half of the year will not occur.

According to the education community on Monday, the Ministry of Education sent an official letter to 40 universities nationwide with medical schools on Friday requesting that they submit plans to prevent medical students from repeating a grade by May 10. The letter also encouraged schools to come up with alternative plans to promote curriculum flexibility, citing examples, such as changing the current ‘semester-based system’ to a ‘linear system.’

Per the Higher Education Act, an academic year is defined as the period from March 1 to the end of February of the following year. In addition, the enforcement decree states that the number of school days for more than 30 weeks must be provided. Accordingly, many universities set school regulations for the first semester from March to August and the second semester from September to February of the following year, with classes held for 15 weeks per semester.

This means that medical schools must start classes in mid-to-late May to complete first-semester classes by the end of August without summer vacation. However, if school regulations are changed and schools adopt a linear system if 30 weeks of classes are continued until the end of February, class start may be postponed until early to mid-August. In this case, according to the related regulations, if a student is absent for more than one-third or one-quarter of classes, the starting point for repeating a grade would be the end of August.

The Ministry of Education discourages medical students from repeating a grade in protest of the government’s new policy, as it would impact the inflow of medical school graduates, and more than 7,500 students would be required to repeat classes. Many universities have started semesters and conducted online classes according to this policy, but practical classes cannot be held online. The measure to suggest linear systems is also seen as a compromise to the schools’ policy to allow leave of absence due to class quality issues.


이문수 기자 doorwater@donga.com