Seoul, Oct 6 (SocialNews.XYZ) The South Korean education ministry said on Sunday it will temporarily allow medical students to take a leave of absence on condition that they return to school next year.
The decision follows Seoul National University's move late last month to approve leave of absence requests submitted en masse in protest of the government's medical reform plans, which include increasing medical school quotas, Yonhap news agency reported.
While reaffirming its stance that taking leave to show solidarity is not a valid reason, the ministry said its temporary measure is aimed, in part, at normalising education.
It, however, warned that students who fail to return next year will face penalties, including possible expulsion.
The ministry stressed that taking semesters off in collective protest does not "constitute legitimate grounds" for a leave of absence, but added that universities should "guarantee students the opportunity to return through individual consultation."
On September 30, Seoul National University approved leave of absence requests for the spring semester from about 780 medical students, representing around 96 per cent of its total student body of the medical department.
This has raised concerns that other universities may follow suit, potentially leading to widespread absences among medical students.
Source: IANS
Gopi Adusumilli is a Programmer. He is the editor of SocialNews.XYZ and President of AGK Fire Inc.
He enjoys designing websites, developing mobile applications and publishing news articles on current events from various authenticated news sources.
When it comes to writing he likes to write about current world politics and Indian Movies. His future plans include developing SocialNews.XYZ into a News website that has no bias or judgment towards any.
He can be reached at gopi@socialnews.xyz
This website uses cookies.
