The government is trying to set the tone for a turnaround by claiming that more than half of medical students have returned to school, but the reality in the educational sector tells a different story.
Even medical schools have been reluctant to disclose their students’ return rates, leading some to argue that the numbers reported by the government may have been inflated to create a false sense of return, according to the medical community on Tuesday.
The government says more than half of medical students have returned to some medical schools after the deadline of last Friday. However, college officials say that the numbers may have been inflated to create a sense of urgency. (Credit: Getty Images)
The government says more than half of medical students have returned to some medical schools after the deadline of last Friday. However, college officials say that the numbers may have been inflated to create a sense of urgency. (Credit: Getty Images)
Commenting on the media report Monday that half of the students at Yonsei University College of Medicine had returned, the Ministry of Education said, “It is right half had returned.” Regarding students who may be notified of expulsion due to failure in enrollment, the ministry said it “does not have a separate remedy in place.”
According to media reports, Yonsei University College of Medicine will send “notices of expulsion due to non-registration” to 398 students, 45.2 percent of the total 881 students, who did not register for the first semester. The unregistered students will be expelled this Friday. The deadline to return to Yonsei University College of Medicine was last Friday.
“The deans have withheld information on the number of returning students. We don't know the exact number,” a college official said. “I think quite a few have returned, but I don't know if it's half or if it’s 30-40 percent, which the authorities have inflated to half to create an atmosphere of return.”
The official said it is also unclear how many enrolled medical students actually “intend to return.” Students may pay tuition and not attend classes to avoid being expelled.
“Enrollment doesn't mean they have the intention to return. It is possible that some students may enroll but refrain from attending classes to avoid expulsion,” the official said. “There is a fear of expulsion among students, so they are bound to be very shaky (under the threat of expulsion).”
“There's still an atmosphere for a ‘united front,’” he said. “Even so, I don't know how the momentum will swing if more than half of the students return. We'll have to wait and see.”
Korea University College of Medicine has also maintained a “non-disclosure” policy on the number of returning students. The medical school deans are also keeping quiet, according to professors. The college, which closed enrollment on the same day as Yonsei University, also saw about half of its medical students enroll, according to the media.
College officials pointed out that the government is preventing medical students from returning to school. They noted that the government’s hardline stance against unregistered students and the threat of expulsion “by the academic rules” have aggravated the situation.
“I think the government is provoking the medical students, and it would have been better if they just told them to come back,” said an official at Korea University College of Medicine. “It is inevitable that the students taking a hardline stance will feel antagonized by being told to come back and expelled simultaneously. We'll have to see the atmosphere a little more.”
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Kim Eun-young key@docdocdoc.co.kr
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