A dozen medical school professors at Gyeongsang National University in the southern city of Jinju offered to give up administrative positions at the school in protest of the university’s request for a sharp increase in its medical school admission quota.
Earlier this week, Gyeongsang National University applied for an increase in its medical school seats to 200 from the current 76, as the government conducted a survey on how many slots each university wants before allocating 2,000 seats the government decided to increase.
“Before filing for an increase, medical school professors delivered their objections against an increase during a meeting with the university president, but their opinions were not accepted,” a medical school official said.
The 12 professors offered to step down from administrative positions, such as dean, deputy dean and department chiefs, in protest of the university’s decision. Two other professors also offered to resign as professors, reportedly to protest the government’s decision t
o increase the medical school quota.
Earlier this week, the government announced that 40 medical schools nationwide applied for a combined 3,401 additional admission seats, much higher than the government’s plan to increase 2,000 from the current 3,058 starting next year.
The previous day, an association of professors from 33 medical schools filed an administrative suit against the health and education ministers, seeking to cancel the quota hike plan.
Participating professors argued that the decision should be nullified because it was announced by the health minister who doesn’t have the authority to determine a university admission quota.
They also claimed that the plan, drawn up without prior consultations with medical professors, trainee doctors and students, was in violation of the due process guaranteed by the Constitution.
Source: Yonhap News Agency