Amid the growing crisis caused by the ongoing boycott of classes and collective leave of absence by medical students opposing the increase in medical school admissions, universities are reportedly considering extending their semester courses or continuing with online classes.
According to universities, on May 13th, 40 universities with medical schools recently submitted academic operation plans related to the medical policy conflict to the Ministry of Education. The universities have proposed to further delay the resumption of classes or to relax the regulations for taking semester courses.
Sungkyunkwan University plans to resume medical classes on June 3rd, while Chosun University plans to resume classes on May 27th. Meanwhile, Konkuk University and Ajou University have not even set a date for the resumption of classes. The semester course regulations are typically bundled into 2 subjects (6 credits) or 3 subjects (9 credits), and if these are relaxed, students can take classes even during the vacation.
As a result, some universities have reportedly asked the government to delay the national exam application schedule for 4th-year students. Kyungpook National University has specifically made this request, announcing that it will resume clinical practice for 3rd and 4th-year students on May 20th. This is because they may not be able to meet the required clinical practice hours (a total of 52 weeks, with more than 36 hours per week) as mandated by the medical education evaluation certification before the national exam application period, which usually takes place in July and August.
However, universities are cautious about the Ministry of Education’s proposal to switch from a semester system to an annual system. If the course structure changes to an annual system, continuous classes could be held for 30 weeks from this coming August until February, when the 2024 academic year ends. The major concern is that this change could lead to controversy over fairness with students from other majors.
The Ministry of Education clarified that each university does not need a specific method but can find a method suitable for its conditions, and plans to relax related regulations as much as possible.
