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Over 8,300 med students subject to grade retention due to class boycott

May 9, 2025

Over 8,300 medical school students will be subject to repeating a year, the Ministry of Education said Friday, as 40 medical schools nationwide have finalized their disciplinary actions against students who refused to return to classes.

An additional 46 students will be disciplined by expulsion, the ministry said after receiving reports on the status of students at the 40 schools earlier this week.

The ministry said 8,305 students, or 42.6 percent of all enrolled students, will be disciplined by repeating a year, also known as grade retention, which means they are required to repeat the same academic year, joining a class of younger students.

The ministry estimated that up to 6,708 students, or 34.4 percent of the total, are expected to attend classes in the first semester of this year.

The government has promised to revert medical school enrollments to the pre-increase quota level of 3,058 in 2026 if all medical students return to schools by the end of March after a yearlong class boycott. Even after the deadline, however, many students still continued their protests by refusing to attend classes.