[News Today] GOV’T GUIDELINES FOR MED STUDENTS

[LEAD]
Trainee doctors protesting increased medical school admission quotas have not returned to work for five months. The Ministry of Education issued new guidelines, promising to minimize failures upon their return. Despite this, medical students find the measures unconvincing, viewing them as barely short of special treatment.

[REPORT]
"A massive flunking of medical school students would be inevitable at this rate."

As such concern mounts, university presidents have been urging the government to come up with countermeasures.

Yang O-bong / President, Jeonbuk Nat'l Univ.
Let's put our heads together so that medical students can finish the year
without being held back.

Subsequently, the Ministry of Education allowed the universities to convert the semester system to an academic year system.
That means the grade processing due date would be extended to the end of this academic year, which would be the end of next February.

A university can stretch the first semester while shortening the second one or split up the second half of this year into two semesters to institute three semesters.

As new students will be entering next year, first-year premed students who get Fs in some courses will be allowed to take the flunked class in the second semester or next year without being held back.

The government may also administer an additional round of the national medical license exam for the fourth-year med students.

That means medical students won't be held back a year if they come back.
However, some criticize this as an excessive privilege for medical students.

Choi Eun-hee / Dir., Office of Human Capital Policy, Ministry of Education
This is a national emergency. Judging from the circumstances, it appears that
not all medical students voluntarily participated in the collective action.

Some med students remained skeptical about the recent government announcement.

Medical Student / (VOICE MODIFIED)
I don't understand how ignoring the voices of students on leave and forcing
them to advance to next year can be an educational solution.

Some experts believe the students' leave of absence should be approved given the circumstances, but the government maintains that collective class boycotting should not be approved.

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