Rome, December 12 – University and Research Minister Anna Maria Bernini faced a heated protest from medical students at the Atreju event, the annual festival of the Brothers of Italy party, yesterday. The students voiced strong opposition to the new ‘filter semester’ for medical admissions, fearing it could lead to them losing a year of study.
Minister Bernini’s Initial Reaction and Students’ Concerns
As Minister Bernini began her speech, a group of students interrupted, chanting, “We can’t take it anymore, with the filter semester we risk losing a year!” These students are actively campaigning against the ongoing medical reform.
Bernini’s initial response was sharp, referencing former Prime Minister Berlusconi: “You know what President Berlusconi used to say? You are still poor communists. Let me speak before you protest. This demonstrates your uselessness.” She then attempted to engage with the students directly, descending from the stage, but the protest intensified, and the students were eventually asked to leave the venue.
Dialogue Amidst Controversy: Bernini Addresses Reforms
Despite the initial confrontation, Bernini later addressed the students’ concerns, stating, “Have you been better off paying 30,000 euros? I have invested 9.4 billion in universities and over 800 million in scholarships. This student strategy is one of chaos: they speak but do not listen. I start to worry when some political party echoes them.” The Atreju audience showed solidarity with the Minister, applauding her remarks repeatedly.
Bernini maintained that she has been in continuous dialogue with students for months. “I have been confronting them for months, and even today I listened to them: you are all witnesses. I would say they did not listen to me. They started protesting before I even spoke,” she declared, rejecting accusations of not listening. She emphasized the need for substantive protests, not just empty slogans. “Protests must have content, they cannot just be empty slogans. How do you respond to slogans? I am carrying out a serious reform, with serious questions, that will train serious doctors.”
Addressing specific concerns about errors in the Physics exam during the second appeal of the medical filter semester, Bernini confirmed, “It’s true, there were two errors,” and clarified that for the second incorrect question, a point would be awarded to all students, meaning the Physics exam score would start from one point.
Medical Admissions and the ‘Filter Semester’
The Minister assured that all 24,000 places in the medical ranking will be filled based on merit evaluations. “This is not an amnesty today; it is the natural evolution of a reform that must await all phases of implementation,” Bernini explained. She detailed the process: “Once we have all the grades before Christmas for all students who participated in the first and second appeals, we will create a ranking. Based on this ranking, we will see who enters immediately, who by February 28 will settle their exam debts, and who can transfer to related subjects that have already been indicated because they could already enroll for free.”
Bernini highlighted the new paradigm: “Previously, there were test candidates who were ‘guillotined’ outside university gates. Here, since September 1, we have 55,000 students who are studying, training, and accumulating academic credits.” She added, “The ranking will slide, and those who do not have sufficient scores in their destination locations, each having indicated 10, will receive their academic credits.”
The Minister stressed her commitment to continuous dialogue regarding student demands: “Being in government does not mean always being right. We constantly reflect; this is a first-application reform, and we cannot penalize students.” Bernini underscored that “for the first time in 25 years, everyone enters university to train” and reiterated her openness to dialogue, but with a firm stance: “I listen to everyone, anyone, but to govern, you must have the courage to decide. At some point, you listen to everyone, and then you decide.”
Political Reactions to Bernini’s Stance
Bernini’s reaction to the student protest did not go unnoticed by political figures.
Senator Francesco Verducci of the Democratic Party (Pd), a member of the Senate Culture Committee, criticized the Minister’s response: “Today, the Minister demonstrated what this government is: only arrogance, aggression, and contempt. This is the level of those who govern us. Shielded in their fortress of power. They favor the strongest and send all others to the slaughter.” Verducci urged Bernini to apologize and convene a meeting with the students, calling the medical access reform a “total failure.”
Riccardo Magi, Secretary of Più Europa, echoed these sentiments, stating that Bernini, “instead of apologizing for the chaos of the medical tests, instead of making amends for the disaster created, bullies the rightly enraged students who were protesting her.” Magi described the reform as “badly constructed and even worse applied,” leading to “increased places only on paper” and a “new, more complex disguised entrance test.”
Source: roma.corriere.it
