Over 13-thousand medical students in the country have applied for a leave of absence, in apparent protest of the government's planned increase of the medical school admissions quota.

According to the education ministry, 515 additional students at 14 medical schools submitted applications on Monday, bringing the cumulative total to 13-thousand-189, or more than 70 percent of the nation’s medical students.

Of the applications submitted since February 16, 61 percent failed to fulfill requirements set under academic regulations. The ministry has requested that schools encourage students to withdraw such applications or to send them back.

Only applications submitted for reasons such as mandatory military duty, health and other personal matters have been approved.

Many medical schools have postponed the start of the spring term from February to March, as students who miss more than a quarter to over a third of classes are likely to fail at most institutions.