Almost 30 percent of medical school students across the nation have submitted leave of absence requests in protest of the government’s plan to increase the medical school admissions quota.

The education ministry said on Tuesday that as of 6 p.m. Monday, six more students from six medical schools had filed for a leave of absence creating a cumulative total of five-thousand-451 students from 40 medical schools. That represents 29 percent of the nation’s medical students. 

The actual number is thought to be much larger, as the tally excluded applications that did not follow due procedures such as meeting with professors. 

The ministry said that eight students from six schools had their requests granted as they were not part of the collective action.

Meanwhile, the ministry requested for strict measures to be taken at the six medical schools at which students have been boycotting classes.