Proposal to Exclude Students with Academic Debts from Study

The government is proposing amendments to the decision of December 31, 2020, No. 824, regarding "Measures to Improve the System of Organizing the Educational Process in Higher Educational Institutions." According to the project developed by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovations, the phrase "Students with academic debts shall not be excluded from study based on the results of the semester and academic year" will be removed from point 42 of the approved regulations on the implementation of the credit-module system in higher education.

This means that the exclusion of students from study, as well as the mechanisms for reinstatement and transfer from course to course, are included in the current point 42, which states: "...A student who has not achieved the passing grade (average score of the program) will be retained in the corresponding course for retaking.

Students with academic debts shall not be excluded from study. Students remaining in their course must only complete the subjects for which they have debts and pay the corresponding contract fees.

The number of retakes on a contractual basis in one course is not limited..." Relevant ministries and agencies have also expressed their opinions on this project document. In particular, the project office of the "Center for Projects in Education" opposed the proposal to exclude students with academic debts from study.

The project office emphasizes that the proposed changes do not align with the concept of the credit-module system and international practices, and reminds that in the event of academic debts, students should be given the opportunity to retake those subjects, complete them in another semester, or master a new module introduced in place of the subject whose term has expired. "Therefore, excluding a student from study solely due to academic debts contradicts the fundamental principles of this system," the project office's statement reads.

Based on the above, it is asserted that the proposal to remove the phrase "Students with academic debts shall not be excluded from study based on the results of the semester and academic year" from Appendix No. 1 of Government Decision No. 824 should not be implemented.

Additionally, this draft regulatory legal document clarifies that if the above proposals and objections are taken into account, it will be considered agreed.