To reduce the imbalances linked to the influx of French students in Belgium, Wallonia will set up a selection competition at the end of the first year of medicine and dentistry.
For thousands of French students, the news is hard to take. The good Belgian plan is over. The government of Wallonia voted, on July 8, to establish a selection competition at the end of the first year of medicine and dentistry, reports Student’s website. A decision which aims to rebalance the number of students within the country’s universities, especially between Wallonia and Flanders, where the competition at the end of the first year is required.
Tensions
In fact, many young French people who have failed in their country of origin have taken advantage of the lack of competition in Wallonia. So much so that the student demographics have been turned upside down. “In Flanders, there are 70 students in the first year of dentistry, compared to 700 in the French community! “, Thus summarized in January the Minister of Health, Maggie de Block.
This influx of French students is not without consequences for the professional activity of doctors in Belgium. In fact, to be able to practice in the country, graduate students are assigned an Inami number (National Institute for Sickness and Invalidity Insurance). However, this number is subject to quotas lower than the number of graduates, which generates tensions. Last year, several young graduates were threatened not to receive the Inami number.
The number of admissions unknown
To regulate the flow of young French people, a first measure had been taken, with the establishment of quotas for “non-resident” students, capped at 30%. In addition to the new competition, this threshold will remain in place. A draw will be organized if the quota is exceeded, as is currently the case.
Concretely, the first evaluations will take place in January 2016, at the end of the first semester. Then, at the end of the year, tests will be organized in the universities on the medical subjects studied during the second semester. A classification will then be established. The great unknown of this new reform concerns the number of admitted to the competition, which has not yet been established and will be fixed by decree in August.
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