Medical research: 5 student federations warn about training costs and internship fees

Associations unanimously condemn the increase in the cost of starting the school year for students in medical institutions. In an unpublished joint report titled “PASS and LAS: Towards the Privatization of Higher Education”, published this Wednesday, August 23, five representative federations in the field of maieutics (ANESF), medicine (ANEMF), dentistry (UNECD) and pharmaceuticals (ANEPF ) and physical therapy (PNEK) take into account the financial burden that is increasingly being placed on students.

As of 2020, students have the choice of joining a PASS or LAS course and then continuing to work in healthcare. What the two paths have in common is “a significant workload associated with choice through multiple options” and which creates “considerable pressure among students to want to tip the odds in their favor.” The main fear of associations: the use of private drugs increases the inequality between students.

Costs are more than 300 times higher than tutoring.

In fact, students can take advantage of a “free” tutoring service in collaboration with faculty and with the support of universities. But when it comes to external and independent organizations, the situation is salty: the report states that in the region for PASS, “private training costs are 31.4 times higher than university registration costs and 218.9 times higher than registration fees.” for tutoring. “. For LAS students, the cost compared to tutoring is 207.7 times higher.

In Île-de-France, the numbers are exploding: at PASS, private tuition courses average 633.8 times higher than tutoring courses, and at LAS they are 320.4 times higher. Thus, when a PASS student spends €10.75 on tutoring, another student in a private organization spends over €6,800.

At the national level, the associations note that “the cost of a private tutoring organization is on average 345 times the cost of tutoring throughout the territory.” Suzanne Neidam, ANESF spokesperson, explains: “People are afraid of being late and there is a significant group effect. »

The report of the federation opposes the interference of private organizations in the affairs of the youngest. “Some may go to high schools to sell their education, this is not normal,” adds Suzanne Neidam. Another claim: an extension of a tutoring permit issued by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research. Thus, the goal remains to keep students as well informed as possible and support them in demanding research, even as rising instability becomes more relevant than ever.

Beyond courses, even more expensive cost of living

Moreover, instability does not stop in the first year of study. “In the 4th year of medicine, for example, the hourly fee for an internship is 2.21 euros,” explains Blandine Fowark, an ANEMF representative. “This is a side job, not to mention personal work and additional university responsibilities. This is completely incompatible with student work and puts some students in very dangerous conditions. »

The associations also note a 6.59% increase in monthly living expenses in the health sectors. Rent, phone, food, leisure: this is a concern for all students, and those who live in Ile-de-France are especially affected by the more expensive housing on average. “For the second cycle, we received a revaluation of 3 euros per month, but this is far from enough,” Blandin Fowark regrets. Last February, a Dress survey found that 26% of young people aged 18-24 were living below the poverty line.