Six out of 10 medical students in the country have filed for a leave of absence, with more than 3,000 newly joining the collective action protesting the government's plan to raise the medical student quota. A total of 3,025 students from medical schools across the country submitted requests for a leave of absence Wednesday, raising the total number of such applications filed over the past three days to 11,778, according to the education ministry. It accounts for 62.7 percent of all medical students that stood at 18,793 as of April last year. Of the total, only 44 applications were accepted as they were unrelated to government policies, while the other requests were deemed to have been submitted for the purpose of the collective action, ministry officials said. The education ministry also said that students in 10 medical schools boycotted class in protest. Should the collective action continue, it could lead to students flunking out en masse because in most medical schools, regulations call for giving fai ling grades to those who are absent from over one-third or one-fourth of the total number of classes. The action comes amid growing concerns over a possible health service paralysis as thousands of trainee doctors have submitted their resignations en masse in protest of the government plan to add 2,000 new seats to the country's medical school enrollment quota next year. The government says the admission expansion would be vital in addressing a chronic shortage of doctors, particularly in rural areas and essential medical fields, while doctors protest that it would compromise the quality of medical education and services. The education ministry, which has been monitoring the collective action of medical students daily, maintains that a collective action does not constitute a valid reason for granting a leave of absence to students. Source: Yonhap News Agency