The 40 universities in the nation that house medical schools have decided to reject the collective leave of absence by their students.  

The heads of these universities convened a virtual meeting on Wednesday and decided to reject all requests for leave of absence submitted by med school students. 

As a result, the schools will either expel or hold back students if they miss a quarter of their school days. 

The meeting came as medical school students have yet to return from their leave of absence despite the government’s proposal to set the admissions quota for the 2026 academic year back to three-thousand-and-58 students on the condition that the students return.

On some schools considering filling vacuums left by expelled students with transfer students, the education ministry has said such decision is one that should be made voluntarily by schools.