Education minister vows utmost assistance to prevent quality erosion in medical education
Education Minister Lee Ju-ho speaks during his online meeting with presidents of universities that run medical schools, March 22. Yonhap
Education Minister Lee Ju-ho on Friday pledged utmost assistance to medical schools to prevent any erosion in the quality of their education following the recent increase of the nationwide medical school quota.
The remark was made during Lee's first online meeting with the presidents of the country's 40 universities running medical schools since the government's allocation of 2,000 additional admission seats to medical schools nationwide earlier this week.
"In order to prevent any decline in the condition of medical education, the government will not spare its support to help medical students be fully prepared in the first three years," Lee said.
"The expansion of the medical school quota is the key task in the government's medical reform to prop up the country's health care services in essential medical disciplines and rural areas," he said.
The minister also urged medical students and professors against collective action as nearly half of all medical students have filed for leaves of absence in protest against the quota hike.
Medical professors at many universities across the nation have also resolved to submit resignations en masse starting Monday.
"It would be very regrettable if professors, who should take the lead in protecting the lives and health of the public, leave their positions beside patients," Lee said. (Yonhap)