2023-07-07 05:12:41
1,850 study places for 15,400 applicants are not enough to allow fair access to medical studies.
Vienna (OTS) – The annual entrance exam for medicine and dentistry, or MedAT for short, is taking place again today. The big discrepancy between the available study places and the applicants is a problem again this year. In Graz, Innsbruck, Linz and Vienna, around 15,400 applicants are trying to get one of the 1,850 study places.
Preparing for the MedAT is usually associated with high costs and an enormous amount of time. The medical entrance exam is therefore difficult to complete, especially for working applicants without large financial resources. “Expensive preparatory courses and high costs for training material should never be a prerequisite. This type of social selection means that education is still strongly inherited, especially in the medical field. We clearly see the task for the BMBWF to oppose this social injustice and to offer preparatory material and courses free of charge,” says Nina Mathies from the chairing team of the Austrian National Union of Students (ÖH).
“An admissions process in which 15,400 applicants have to fight for 1,850 university places leads to enormous psychological stress and increased competitive thinking among many young, motivated people,” explains Sarah Rossmann from the chair team and adds: “The lack of connection between the requirements in the MedAt and the competencies for the medical courses, shows how pointless this access restriction is.” The ÖH speaks out against access restrictions and is committed to free and open access to higher education in Austria. This can only be achieved through state funding of the universities.
Due to the strictly limited number of study places, there has been a chronic shortage of doctors in Austria for years, despite the great rush for medical studies. The study places currently available are not sufficient to compensate for this shortage. “The fact that we in Austria have to contend with a massive shortage of doctors on the one hand, and on the other hand thousands of interested people every year cannot get a place at a medical university, shows unmistakably that there is a big mistake in the education system. The number of places to study medicine must be increased in order to be able to overcome the shortage of doctors,” concludes Simon Neuhold from the ÖH chair team.
Questions & contact:
ÖH – Austrian National Union of Students
Elisabeth Hammer
press secretary
+43 664 88653424
elisabeth.hammer@oeh.ac.at
1688706927
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