Medical students in Syria call for removal of interview score from residency admission

Dozens of medical students gathered in front of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Damascus on Friday to protest the inclusion of oral interview scores in the Unified Medical Residency Selection process, arguing that the measure undermines equal opportunity and alters the basis of competition among applicants.

The protesters called for the interview score to be excluded from the final selection ranking, urging that the interview be used solely to assess an applicant's suitability for a specialty under a pass/fail screening system, without affecting applicants' rankings or the final residency selection results, as was the case in previous years.

The demonstrations followed the Higher Education Ministry's adoption of a new framework for the Unified Medical Residency Selection, under which oral interview scores are included among the admission criteria for several medical specialties. The ministry said the change is intended to improve the selection process for resident physicians and enhance the quality of postgraduate medical training.

Participants in the demonstration carried banners calling for "justice and transparency" in the admission criteria, arguing that including the oral interview in the final score gives it decisive weight that could affect applicants' chances of securing the specialty they merit based on their academic performance.

As of the time of publication, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research had not issued an official statement regarding the protest or the students' demands.