Padeniya files: GMOA ready for showdown

The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) yesterday protested the victimization of its President Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya for allegedly leading the campaign against the Malabe Private Medical College, and warned it would launch countrywide trade union action from Tuesday unless his personal file was returned to the Lady Ridgeway Hospital (LRH) Director by noon on Monday.  

This comes in the wake of a statement from Dr. Padeniya being recorded by the Bribery and Corruption Commission on Tuesday over his two years of leave obtained for his postgraduate training at the Oxford University in Britain.

Dr. Padeniya told Daily Mirror that his personal file with all personal and official documents went missing and he did not know where it was. He expressed surprise and disappointment as to how it ended up at the Bribery commission leading to an inquiry against him.

After a special executive committee meeting last afternoon, the GMOA decided to write to Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena demanding that he conducts an investigation as to how and why Bribery and Corruption Commission got access to his personal file.

The letter states that the GMOA had learnt that Dr. Padeniya’s personal file had been taken out of his present working station at the Lady Ridgeway hospital after citing issues related to his leave.

Leave is an administrative issue and the GMOA General Committee which met yesterday decided to resort to trade union action from Tuesday unless the personal file was sent back to lady Ridgeway Hospital by Monday afternoon.

We request you to grant us an appointment to discuss this critical issue, the letter said.

Dr. Padeniya said the Bribery and Corruption Commission had nothing to do with his leave and if there was any irregularity it was up to the health ministry to conduct an internal inquiry and take appropriate action if he had done anything wrong.

“I was granted leave from 2008 to 2010 by the Health Ministry on the guidelines of the Health Service Minutes for Foreign Training to follow my post graduate degree on Pediatrics. I left Sri Lanka in February 2009 and returned in July 2010 even without remaining in Britain and using my extra months of leave. I was duly trained for a sub-specialist for 18 months as an obligatory requirement and returned after that,’ he added.

Dr. Padeniya said he considered the recording of a statement by the bribery commission as a move to harass  him as there was no complainant or a petition against him as far as he knew. (By Sandun A. Jayasekera)

GMOA threatens strike if Dr. Padeniya’s file not returned

September 29, 2011, 9:12 pm

by Dasun Edirisinghe

The Government Medical Officers’ Association yesterday threatened to launch an island wide strike from Tuesday (04) if the authorities fail to return its President Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya’s personal file by 12.00 noon on Monday (03).

GMOA Assistant Secretary Dr. Sankalpa Marasinghe told The Island that the decision had been taken when their general committee met on Thursday to decide the future course of action.

"We resorted to severe trade union action earlier, but no one harassed us," he said adding but this time their members were being harassed and intimidated when protesting against the Malabe Private Medical College (PMC).

The Bribery Commission had removed GMOA President Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya’s personal file from the Lady Ridgeway Children’s Hospital, Borella on Monday (26) claiming that they wanted to check on some leave he had taken to do his higher studies overseas.

If a medical officer does wrong, it should be inquired into by the Health Ministry’s separate division, not by the Bribery Commission, Dr. Marasinghe said.

He said that this is a very cheap way to handle an inquiry against a government officer.

"Not only Dr. Padeniya, most of our members received threats after we protested against the PMC, but we will not give up our effort to stop it," Dr. Marasinghe said.

Issuing an extraordinary gazette notification numbered 1721 – 19 of Aug. 30, 2011, Higher Education Minister S. B. Dissanayake legalized the Malabe PMC and University Grants Commission (UGC) awarded the MBBS degree awarding status to it.

The GMOA officially launched their protest against the PMC a month ago by threatening a countrywide strike, but it was postponed due to the Ministry’s assurance that a committee woild be appointed to investigate the standards of the PMC.

 

Non academics give Govt. four weeks to solve salary issue

September 29, 2011, 9:13 pm

by Dasun Edirisinghe

University non-academics, including executive officers, who met the officials of the National Salaries and Cadre Commission (NSCC) yesterday, said they would give the government four weeks to resolve their salary problems or they will resort to trade union action immediately.

President of the Inter University Trade Union Federation (IUTUF) R. M. Chandrapala told The Island that they were not happy with the discussion at the NSCC on Thursday morning. Officials from the University Grants Commission (UGC) and Higher Education Ministry also attended the discussion with the IUTUF and University Executive Officers Union.

"The UGC officials asked for two weeks to study and approve the NSCC proposal, prepared by us at the meeting, on rectifying anomalies in our salaries," he said.

Chandrapala said that the problem was passed from one to another from 2006, but this time they would definitely stage tough trade union action after a month from yesterday.

At the discussion, he said, the NSCC also asked for two weeks time to refer the proposal, once they get it from the UGC for approval and amendments.

Therefore the IUTUF gave the government four weeks to resolve the issue, Chandrapala said.

He said that the NSCC had however promised to meet their grievances before the budget.

GMOA to decide on counter measures against increased threats

September 28, 2011, 10:28 pm

By Dasun Edirisinghe

The General Committee of the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) will meet today (29) to decide on a strategy to counter the stepped-up threats on its President Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya for spearheading the ongoing protest campaign targeting the Malabe Private Medical College (PMC).

GMOA Assistant Secretary Dr. Sankalpa Marasinghe told The Island their executive committee, which met on Wednesday, had decided to brief the Cabinet of Ministers on the threats directed at those campaigning against the PMC.

The supreme body of the GMOA is the General Committee, which includes representatives from all government hospitals. The GMOA didn’t rule out the possibility of resorting to trade union action if the ongoing harassment and threats were not stopped forthwith.

Dr. Marasinghe said that they had discussed ways and means of meeting the threat against the GMOA, which last week threatened to sue Higher Education Minister S. B. Dissanayake for allegedly defaming Dr. Padeniya.

The GMOA reacted angrily to the Bribery Commission removing Dr. Padeniya’s personal file from the Lady Ridgway Hospital for Children on Monday. Dr. Marasinghe alleged that those involved in the PMC project had been acting in a threatening manner and Monday’s removal of Dr. Padeniya’s personal file was part of their overall strategy.

Profs., Lecturers take sabbatical leave to work at Malabe PMC

September 28, 2011, 10:29 pm

By Nilantha Madurawela

A number of professors and senior lecturers, who were attached to the Medical Faculty of the University of Sri Lanka, have either joined the permanent staff of the Malabe Private Medical College or lecture at the institute during the weekends.

Among them are 16 Professors and 12 senior lecturers. Seven professors have taken sabbatical leave from the university and are teaching permanently at the private medical college while the rest of the professors and senior lecturers are conducting lectures during the weekends.

Director of the private medical college Dr. Sameera Senaratne told the media that they had been recruited after calling for applications.

He said a committee has been appointed by the health ministry to review the medical colleges and it had not mentioned anything about not recruiting students and hence its academic affairs continue as usual.

Uni. Non-academics to meet NSCC tomorrow

Hopeful of positive response

September 27, 2011, 9:54 pm

by Dasun Edirisinghe

University non-academics are scheduled to meet officials of the National Salaries and Cadre Commission (NSCC) tomorrow (29) to discuss matters relating to anomalies in their salaries, which have not been rectified since 2006. They will put forward their proposals on rectifying the anomalies.

Representatives from the University Grants Commission (UGC), Higher Education Ministry and the Treasury are also expected to participate in the discussions.

President of the Inter University Trade Union Federation (IUTUF) told The Island yesterday that their executive committee would meet tomorrow afternoon to decide the future course of trade union action, which would be based on outcome of the discussion.

"We have already planned to take trade union action if government fails to resolve the problem as soon as possible," he said adding they would decide what action should be performed, based on the discussion with NSCC.

Chandrapala said that they however expect a positive response from the NSCC to their proposal at tomorrow’s meeting.

University non-academics, including administrative officers, performed a sick-note campaign in universities island wide on September 12 and threatened a token strike within 14 days demanding that the government take urgent steps to rectify anomalies in their salaries.

Chandrapala said that all successive governments, after 2006, had failed to honour the pledges made to non-academics and the problem had worsened now.

"This time, we launched our protest by holding a demonstration opposite the UGC on August 03," he said adding they would cripple universities overnight if the government continues to disregard their agitation.

 

GMOA vows to take legal action

The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) Central Working Committee which met recently has unanimously decided to take legal action if the Higher Education Ministry did not oblige to the demands of the union to shut down the private medical university in Malabe.

GMOA Spokesman Dr. Upul Gunasekara said the union would send a letter of demand to Higher Education Minister S.B Dissanayake this week and may choose to take legal action depending on the response.

“We have received an approval to go ahead with the legal process. But we will wait for a response from the ministry,” Dr. Gunasekara said.

He said the union had decided on two courses of action. If the ministry chooses to dissolve the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC), the GMOA will resort to islandwide trade union action without prior notice. “According to the Medical Ordinance doctors cannot practice without having registered with the SLMC. Therefore our licence to practise medicine will be annulled automatically if the SLMC is dissolved,” he said.

He also said if the Health Ministry permitted the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) to use any hospital in the country as proposed recently, the GMOA would go on an all island protest. “Hospitals are run on people’s taxes. We cannot allow a private institution of this nature to use public resources,” he said. (By Olindhi Jayasundere)

 

 

GMOA summons hurried Exco meeting claiming harassment

September 27, 2011, 9:56 pm

by Dasun Edirisinghe

The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA)has hurriedly summoned an executive committee meeting today (28) in Colombo to decide their future course of action claiming harassment of some of their members who are working actively against the Malabe Private Medical College.

GMOA Assistant Secretary Dr. Sankalpa Marasinghe told The Island yesterday that their general committee which included representatives from countrywide government hospitals too meets tomorrow (29) to take immediate action against what he termed harassment of doctors.

"GMOA President Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya’s personal file has already been removed from the Lady Ridgeway Children’s Hospital, Borella," he said adding it happened on Monday as Dr. Padeniya actively worked against the Malabe PMC.

Issuing an extraordinary gazette notification numbered 1721 – 19 of Aug. 30, 2011, Higher Education Minister S. B. Dissanayake legalized the Malabe PMC and University Grants Commission (UGC) awarded the MBBS degree awarding status to it, which is similar to the government medical faculties, he said.

The GMOA officially launched their protest against the PMC a month ago by threatening a countrywide strike, but it was postponed due to the Ministry’s assurance on appointing a committee to investigate the standards of the PMC.

Dr. Marasinghe said that everyday their members are receiving threatening calls. Active members who work against the PMC are being followed by unidentified persons from last week.

He warned they would continue the protests despite all the threats and harassments.

"The Health Ministry appointed the committee recently to investigate the standards of the PMC as they promised to us," Dr. Marasinghe said adding that they will launch their future protests with the outcome of the committee’s findings.

Health Ministry spokesman, W. M. D. Wanninayake, when contacted by The Island for comment said that the ministry has appointed a five member committee to investigate the standards of the PMC.

He said that the ministry has also requested the PMC not to enroll students until the committee submits its report within two months.

"We will act according to the committee’s report," said Wanninayake.

FUTA awaits NSCC recommendationsby Dasun Edirisinghe

September 27, 2011, 9:57 pm

University teachers who were on warpath against the government for its inability to increase the salaries are now waiting for the National Salaries and Cadre Commission’s (NSCC) recommendation to resolve their grievances.

FUTA Secretary, Dr. Terrance Madhujith told The Island yesterday that the NSCC accepted their proposal to increase the salaries at a meeting held on September 21.

"We proposed to the NSCC to add 20% to the basic salary of university teachers as the increment," he said adding that the NSCC officials promised to come back as soon as possible after consulting their superiors.

Dr. Madhujith said that the government had a history of reneging on promises it made to university teachers since 2008, but this time the Higher Education Ministry promised to grant their dues in the 2012 budget.

Representatives from the University Grants Commission (FUTA), Treasury, FUTA and NSCC participated in the discussion, he said.

University teachers resorted to trade union action to pressure the government to rectify their salary anomalies, with a token strike on March 15, 2011. They resigned from university administrative posts on May 09 to further press their case.

"We stopped our trade union action based on several promises given by the Government," he said.

The FUTA proposed, Dr. Madhujith said that to create a special professional category for university teachers, but the government has yet to responded to that.

He said that they also urged that 6% of the GDP (Gross Domestic Production) be allocated to education and it too has yet to be accepted by the government.

 

Science News, The Telegraph, UK

Science world in shock after Cern light speed claim

Scientist have been accused of making an "embarrassing gaffe" in claiming to have recorded particles breaking the speed of light.

Prof Stephen Hawking, the world's best-known physicist, expressed doubts, saying: 'It is premature to comment on this. Further experiments and clarifications are needed' Photo: MARTIN POPE

By Nick Collins, Science Correspondent

11:42PM BST 23 Sep 2011

165 Comments

A British physicist even promised to eat his boxer shorts on live television if it turned out to be correct.

Scientists at CERN, the world's largest physics lab near Geneva, stunned the world of science on Thursday night by announcing they had observed tiny particles known as neutrinos travelling slightly faster than light.

The claim – if true – would be inconsistent with Einstein's theory of special relativity, a cornerstone of modern physics which states that nothing can travel faster than light.

Researchers were so astonished by their findings that they spent months checking their data, without finding any errors that would disprove their claim, and cautiously invited the world to prove them wrong.

Reacting to the news yesterday, scientists working on the project – known as OPERA – stressed the need for the results to be checked before drawing any conclusions about our understanding of the universe.

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Prof Jim Al-Khalili, professor of Physics at Surrey University, said: "The scientists are right to be extremely cautious about interpreting these findings. If the neutrinos have broken the speed of light, it would overturn a keystone theory from the last century of physics.
"That’s possible, but it’s far more likely that there is an error in the data. If the CERN experiment proves to be correct and neutrinos have broken the speed of light, I will eat my boxer shorts on live TV.”
Prof Stephen Hawking, the world's best-known physicist, also expressed doubts, saying: "It is premature to comment on this. Further experiments and clarifications are needed."
Others said that, while the accuracy of the experiment needs to be verified, its impact on our understanding of science and the world around us could be almost unprecedented.
Brian Cox, the TV presenter and physicist, told BBC Radio 6 Music: "If it is confirmed it will be the most important discovery in physics in at least the past 100 years.
"It is a very big deal, it requires a complete rewriting of our understanding of the universe ... it is such an extraordinary claim that it is difficult to believe."
But Dr John Costella, an Australian-based physicist, accused the researchers of making an "embarrassing gaffe" in their calculations.
In a paper published online yesterday, he wrote: "Any physicist worth even a fraction of their weight in neutrinos will be shaking their head, knowing intuitively that the OPERA result is simply wrong."

Media commentators deal in superficials
  The private university debate misses the point



Much heat is vented on the private medical college debate most of which, apart from being verbose and repetitive, misses the real point. On September 19 alone, as I write, two full page articles appeared (YW Abeywichrama in Island Financial Review and Shenali Waduge in Daily Mirror Business); full page but the meat could have been compressed into one-third as many column inches. The argument in the English press, all in favour of the private medical college, makes reasonable points, despite a deluge of words, that is if you ignore the bigger picture. The perimeter of their narrow focus is about opportunity for more students and foreign exchange saving. On the dispute of whether Malabe college degrees will be up to standard, they don’t know how to make their point. Let me do that for them; if quality is not up to scratch it can be fixed, hence this is not an argument against private degrees, medical or otherwise, in principle. Enough of all this, let’s get to reality.

Running national universities into the mud

Do you think that if someone wants to open a private university on the South Bank of the Thames there will be howls from Oxford and Cambridge? Would Harvard and Princeton throw a fit if SB launched a martial arts college in the Bronx, would the Sorbonne and the Ecole Polytechnique scream “Merde!” if Playboy started a Fashion College in Montmartre? If prestigious national universities in a country have been elevated to peerless status and repute, then neither staff, nor students, nor professional bodies will stop even to give the time of day to some new arrival. When on the other hand, over decades the national universities have been run to the ground by successive governments, fear and insecurity take possession of stakeholder’s minds.
The amount the government spends per university student per year, student loans and accommodation, the state of research and research funding, the professorial and qualified component in the staff especially in some medical schools, library and laboratory facilities, and crucially the English language incompetence of the university community, all of this I do not need to detail here; readers are sufficiently aware of the dire state of affairs. The protest against private universities is a reflex reaction to this sorry state.
If a commitment and a serious programme to revitalise the national universities is initiated, and if it is sincerely implemented over a ten year span, this spat about private degree factories melts away. While private universities will help absorb some students and contribute at the margin, they can never become large enough players to meet the broader needs of tertiary education, course diversification and vocational training. Some 200,000 sit the A-levels each year and the national universities enrol 20,000; only the state can address the immense problem of the future of post A-level youth.

The rudiments of a programme

Though I have no confidence in the prospect of the present government initiating a programme of the nature I have adverted to, it is still incumbent upon us to get on with some outline thinking and suggesting a preliminary draft to be fleshed out by others.
1. The state must make a commitment of about $3 to $5 million a year over a period of about 10 years to upgrade existing universities to a moderate level of international ranking excellence over the period. If I recall correctly, not a single of our universities is ranked within the first 1000 (or maybe 2000) in the world by any of the established university ranking bodies.
2.  Clear benchmarks of expected attainment and time frames must be laid out for all existing universities. For example (and only an example for illustrating my concept of benchmarking), Peradeniya could be targeted to rise to a position in the first 200 to 300 rank, say within five years. Similar benchmarks should be set up for all national universities, bearing in mind their current strengths and weaknesses, within a time frame of say 10 years.
3.  Some universities, such as Peradeniya, can be identified as comprehensive (humanities, social sciences, engineering, medicine, science, law, business and management) while others can be specialized to focus on a more limited scope.
4. Staffing stands at the apogee of quality. Scholars of international repute must be attracted to the professoriate and all academic staff must possess internationally recognized qualifications. Salaries are not the only carrot, research opportunities (local research students are cheap), encouragement of a culture of scholarship, conducting and participating in conferences, international interaction and travel, and an environment of political non-interference and academic freedom, indeed it is all of this which goes to make a university and attract quality academics.
5. The UGC, vice chancellors and councils must be drawn from fearless people who possess high respect in the community, and their decisions must rule. Presidents, ministers and politicians must get out of the way and stay out of the way.
6. The diversification of tertiary education must be given careful consideration. There must a liberal educational input into all curricula (we want human beings, not zombies) but equally important, the target domains must include employment relevant courses. The aforementioned diversification of institutions (3 above) can be used to address these needs. Private educational institutions can be encouraged to fill these niche slots on a broader basis. Only the rich are likely to benefit from expensive private medical and engineering courses; how about private colleges awarding diplomas in nursing or vocational certificates in carpentry and plumbing - trades in acute shortage?
7. The vocational is no less important than the formal tertiary level. Diploma and higher diploma courses of one and two year durations should be incorporated in the structure of degree awarding institutions. Class barriers can be torn down and students in vocational and formal academic programmes encouraged to mix. Some staff will specialize in degree or vocational programmes, some will teach across courses.
8. English is a matter of the utmost importance. No student must be allowed to graduate with a degree or a vocational diploma unless he/she can read, write and converse in basic English. Do we want the knowledge based world, whose international medium is English, to pass us by? I weep for so many bright young fellows I see around me who cannot surf the web, consult a manual, install software, read the English newspapers, or communicate across the Sinhala-Tamil boundary. There is zero incentive for Sinhalese to learn Tamil and not much more vice versa. Everybody wants English; cash in on it!
 

Quality Of Private Medical Education

The Sunday Leader, 25/09/2011
Over the last few days the attention of the public has been drawn to the private medical College (SAITM) at Malabe. (PMSM) The sole reason for this is the unwarranted, unjustified and hasty decision to grant it Degree Awarding Institute (DAI) status even before a fraction of the shortcomings and deficiencies has been attended to. The most conspicuous failing has been the inability to put up a Teaching Hospital while continuing to admit students every year. Despite the support from the Ministry of Higher Education and UGC as well as from very influential professionals who have their children studying there SAITM has deliberately delayed the construction of a Teaching Hospital as it was hoping to get the Government to allow the use of State Hospitals for teaching purposes.
The Minister of Higher Education S.B. Dissanayake too has muddied the waters by questioning the authority of the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) in the recognition of Medical Degrees registrable in Sri Lanka. It is most surprising that the Ministry of Higher Education is clueless about the role of the SLMC and authority vested in it by the Medical Ordinance. One wonders what kind of advice the UGC has been giving the Minister as his defence has been that the UGC has concurred with his decisions. It is clear from these revelations that the Ministry of Higher Education and the UGC need to be made aware of their limitations and constraints placed upon them by the Medical Ordinance. Unlike other degree courses, the courses leading to MBBS need to be examined, monitored and if need to be made to fall in line with the guidelines established by the SLMC (ironically with the concurrence of the UGC about a decade ago.) It is also very unfortunate that even knowledgeable professionals are only concerned with obtaining the final degree for their children and not the process, content, quality, etc., leading to it. One wonders whether either or both the Ministry of Higher Education and the UGC are capable of understanding the problems and the special situations that medical courses demand.
When discussing the issue of private medical education, attempts are made to portrait that the SLMC and GMOA are against the opening of private medical schools. Nothing is further from the truth. It is the haphazard opening up with little concern about infrastructure facilities, quality of teachers and trainers, course and curriculum content, maintenance of minimum standards, etc., that make these ventures the target of severe criticism. Sometimes they even try to gain advantage by using political power and influence to share state hospital facilities along with local medical students.
If from the beginning SAITM had followed the recommendations made by the SLMC they would not have been in this situation. It is not too late even now for the Ministry of Higher education and the UGC to cooperate with the SLMC in moving forward to obtain legal recognition.
A. G. de Sliva
Ragama.

Academics On The War Path

The Sunday Leader, 25/09/2011

• Oppose placing university security under Rakna Arakshaka Lanka Ltd.
• Concerns over the role of military establishments in academic spheres of universities

Several University academics have strongly opposed moves to hand over the security of all state universities to a company which operates under the Defence Ministry.
The Sunday Leader, two weeks ago, quoted Higher Education Ministry Secretary Dr. Sunil Jayantha Nawaratne as saying that the security of all state universities has been handed over to Rakna Arakshaka Lanka Ltd. and another company.
Rakna Arakshaka Lanka Ltd, according to its website, is headed by Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.
Following The Sunday Leader report, several university academics, have in a petition, said the move to hand over the security of all state universities to Rakna Arakshaka Lanka Ltd is in complete contravention of the norms and conventions by which universities are expected to function.
“The letter issued by the Secretary to the Ministry of Higher Education seeks to bypass standard procedures that are followed in the university system in the hiring and outsourcing of services. That process requires tenders to be called for and for a suitable company to be selected in a transparent and independent manner. The Secretary’s instruction therefore is in violation of established processes and is contrary to the underpinning principles of governance and the autonomy of academic institutions,” the university academics said.
The academics said that Rakna Arakshaka Lanka Ltd is held out to be a government owned commercial security venture and has been set up under the Ministry of Defence, under the direct supervision of the Secretary to that Ministry.
The website of Rakna Arakshaka Lanka Ltd states that only ex-servicemen are hired by the company. The website also provides a list of other state owned departments that have hired the services of Rakna Arakshaka Lanka Ltd.
“Internationally, privatisation of security has been debated on intensely owing to the sensitive nature of what is termed as “security” and how such “security” is maintained. Experiences in other parts of the world suggest that accountability should be increased in the maintenance of security, not decreased. In that light, the directive by the ministry that all security in all state universities should be handed over to one commercial enterprise owned by the state, coming under the supervision of one public officer, becomes problematic. Holding such an entity accountable to the university authorities could, predictably, become difficult,” the university academics said.
The university academics said that it is important that universities retain their independence in matters of hiring and recruiting, tailored to suit the individual needs of each university.
They also expressed concerns over the role the military establishment is increasingly playing in the administrative and academic spheres of the universities, which are a place of free exchange of ideas, critical thinking and innovation. “We of course have in mind the leadership training programme conducted by the Military to university entrants, which, arbitrarily imposed on all concerned, reduced the authority of the academic community within its own area of purview. This last development of encroachment via hiring procedure by the Ministry of Defence is seen as a further elaboration of this trend of increasing militarisation of the universities,” the university academics said.

48 University Academics who signed the letter sent to the Education Ministry opposing moves to hand over the security of all State Universities to Rakna Arakshaka Lanka Ltd.
·    Ranil Abayasekara, University of Peradeniya
·    Harini Amarasooriya, Open University of Sri Lanka
·    Suresh de Mel, University of Peradeniya
·    Sampath Deegalla, University of Peradeniya
·    Noel Dias, University of Colombo
·    Priyan Dias, University of Moratuwa
·    Lesly Ekanayake, University of Moratuwa
·    Primal Fernando, University of Peradeniya
·    Lakshman Galagedara, University of Peradeniya
·    Ranil D. Guneratne, University of Colombo
·    Camena Guneratne, Open University of Sri Lanka
·    Dileni Gunewardena, University of Peradeniya
·    K. R. B. Herath, University of Peradeniya
·    S. R. Herath, University of Peradeniya
·    Rohini Hewamanna, University of Colombo
·    M. I. M. Ishak, University of Peradeniya
·    Janaki Jayawardena, University of Colombo
·    Romaine Jayewardene, University of Colombo
·    Danesh Karunanayake, University of Peradeniya
·    Parakrama Karunaratne, University of Peradeniya
·    Dulakshi Karunasinghe, University of Peradeniya
·    Gamini Keerawella, University of Peradeniya
·      Manikya Kodithuwakku, Open University of Sri Lanka
·    L. C. Kurukulasuriya, University of Peradeniya
·    Amal Kumarage, University of Moratuwa
·    Shamala Kumar, University of Peradeniya
·    Darshana Liyanage, University of Ruhuna
·    Sanjeeva Maithripala, University of Peradeniya
·    K. P. P. Pathirana, University of Peradeniya
·    A. L. M. Mauroof, University of Peradeniya
·    R. Meegaskubura, University of Peradeniya
·    Nilhan Niles, University of Moratuwa
·    Rathnamali Palamakumbura, University of Peradeniya
·    Susantha Pathirana, University of Peradeniya
·    Asoka Perera, University of Moratuwa
·    Nimal Ratnayake, University of Peradeniya
·    Rohan Ratnayake, Open University of Sri Lanka
·    Asanga Ratnaweera, University of Peradeniya
·    Dinesha Samararatne, University of Colombo
·    Gameela Samarasinghe, University of Colombo
·    I. M. S. Sathyaprasad, University of Peradeniya
·    Kalinga Tudor Silva, University of Peradeniya
·    M. Sitralega, Eastern University
·    Upul Sonnadara, University of Colombo
·    Sumathy Sivamohan, University of Peradeniya
·    Ruvan Weerasinghe, University of Colombo
·    Carmen Wickramagamage, University of Peradeniya
·    B. Dileepa Witharana, Open University of Sri Lanka

Minister and GMOA cross swords over medical specialists’ standards

Public questions how substandard institution gained recognition

By Kumudini Hettiarachchi and Hansini Munasinghe/ the sunday Times, 25/09/2011.

As the private medical college fiasco simmered with an advertising war between its owners and the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC), allegations and counter-allegations also erupted between Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayake and the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA). The controversy raged on with the SLMC publishing a huge advertisement on its stance last week, followed the next day by Malabe Medical College owner, Dr. Neville Fernando, giving his version. This was while Minister Dissanayake allegedly went on record, casting serious aspersions against medical specialists in the country with the Health Ministry promptly issuing a statement that “media reports” gave the wrong impression about the standard of specialist doctors serving in Government hospitals. GMOA Assistant Secretary Dr. Upul Gunasekara waves the SLMC advertisements refuting SAITM claims, with Assistant Secretary Dr. Sankalpa Marasinghe by his side at the news conference on Friday. Pic by Mangala Weerasekera All specialist doctors serving in the Health Ministry have obtained a postgraduate qualification from the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine of the University of Colombo, gone for training abroad, been assessed, come back and been appointed as specialists to the health service through the Public Service Commission in a transparent process, stated Health Ministry Secretary Dr. Ravindra Ruberu in a statement, adding that Specialist Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya also falls into this category. Dr. Padeniya, who is President of the GMOA, has been in the eye of the storm, with Minister Dissanayake linking him with corruption allegations and that he allegedly used influence to secure his postgraduate qualifications. The GMOA, meanwhile, announced at a media briefing on Friday that it has sent a letter of demand for Rs. 300 million to Minister Dissanayake over this issue and also called a special general meeting of the GMOA’s Central Committee today, after an emergency meeting of its Executive Committee last Thursday (September 22). We will discuss the allegations made by Minister Dissanayake against Dr. Padeniya as well as private medical education in the country, GMOA’s Assistant Secretary Dr. Upul Gunasekara said, pointing out that Dr. Padeniya did his postgraduate studies at the University of Oxford. “He is the first Sri Lankan Oxford-qualified Paediatric Neurologist,” he said. As the web around the Malabe MC issue thickened, many academics, doctors, other professionals, students and public pointed an accusing finger at the fact that the right procedures had not been followed or loopholes in the procedures have been used to wriggle a substandard institution into the system as a degree-awarding institution. Why is the Government not cracking down on an institution which seems to have blatantly misled the public, was the question on the minds of many, with others being very vocal about why strict guidelines, like in India, cannot be brought in for the setting up of private medical colleges. According to some of the Indian conditions the “eligible persons shall qualify to apply for permission” if the applicant is an autonomous body, registered society or charitable trust; have a suitable single plot of land measuring not less than 25 acres, owned and possessed or possessed by way of a 99-year lease for the construction of the college; owns and manages a hospital of not less than 300 beds (for 50 student admissions) with necessary infrastructural facilities capable of being developed into a teaching institution in the campus; has not admitted students to the proposed medical college; provides two performance bank guarantees from a scheduled commercial bank valid for five years, in favour of the Medical Council of India, New Delhi, one for Rs. 100 lakhs (for 50 admissions) for the establishment of the medical college and its infrastructural facilities and the second bank guarantee for Rs. 350 lakhs (for 400 beds) for the establishment of the teaching hospital and its infrastructural facilities. In Sri Lanka, draft guidelines (minimum prescribed standards) were drawn up thrice but have been consigned to limbo and not passed by Parliament to come into effect, the GMOA stressed, while other sources explained that such guidelines were not adequate. They should be more comprehensive and cover both private and state medical education, the source pointed out. Going back to the origins of the Malabe Medical Faculty, the Sunday Times attempted to pare away the dead tissue and focus on the sore which has resulted in this malaise that is stifling private medical education. Documents by the Board of Investment (BOI) dated August 2010 in the possession of the Sunday Times reveal that the South Asian Institute of Technology and Management (Pvt) Ltd., (SAITM) had been granted BOI approval on March 31, 2008 to set up a “higher education institute to provide training programmes” for information technology; management and finance; engineering; vocational studies; nursing; languages; and health science. The investment was US$ 5 million. “This approval was granted subject to the condition that approval from the Ministry of Health and Nutrition be obtained prior to providing training in Health Science,” the BOI states categorically, indicating that SAITM’s application did not include a “proposal to set up a medical school”. It was also a 100% locally-owned venture, according to the BOI, and no joint application was submitted with the Nizhny Novgorod State Medical Academy (NNSMA) in Russia. Neither had the BOI received a separate application by NNSMA to set up an offshore campus in Sri Lanka. The BOI further states that the SAITM application was not referred for scrutiny to an educational authority. Meanwhile, the Dr. Neville Fernando Investment Company (Pvt), the owners of SAITM, by letter dated May 21, 2008 had informed the BOI that he had requested the Health Minister, the Sri Lanka Medical Council and the University Grants Commission to permit him to commence a private medical college and had forwarded the copies of letters sent to them. This had been followed up with a letter dated January 26, 2009, where Dr. Neville Fernando had informed the BOI that they had been able to affiliate with a prestigious university in Russia, namely NNSMA, to offer Doctor of Medicine (MD) Degrees. He had informed the BOI that the degree (MD) had already been recognized by the SLMC and the General Medical Council of the United Kingdom and the World Health Organization, according to the BOI. The BOI documentation also indicates that on a request made by Dr. Neville Fernando, the company was granted approval to change the main investor as Dr. Neville Fernando instead of Dr. Neville Fernando Investment Company (Pvt) Ltd., and SAITM signed the agreement with the BOI on October 1, 2008. An intriguing aspect of this fiasco is how and when the South Asian Institute of Technology and ‘Management’ dropped its ‘tail’ and became ‘Medicine’ advertising heavily in the process. It also boasted (when calling for the 2010 second intake) that pre-clinical studies for the first batch would begin in well-known private hospitals with over 800 beds, even after repeated advertisements by the SLMC that it had not granted recognition to the Malabe MC. When the Sunday Times checked with Malabe MC’s Dr. Fernando how they would handle the clinicals for their first few batches without a hospital, he said a 1002-bed Teaching Hospital was being constructed close-by. Until it was completed, he said, they had arranged with three private hospitals for their students to go to, last week. However, when the Sunday Times, contacted Malabe MC’s Director Dr. Sameera Senaratne, he said the students would only begin their clinicals in November. To the query from the Sunday Times about the academic staff, Dr. Fernando said they had about 50 lecturers and demonstrators, with every 10 students having one demonstrator. But Dr. Senaratne was unable to give the exact numbers, when questioned closely.When allegations that medical graduates who have qualified abroad but not passed the Examination for Registration to Practice Medicine (ERPM or Act 16) in Sri Lanka were teaching at the Malabe MC, were made, Dr. Fernando said that they had to pass the ERPM only to practise medicine but not to teach. This was the same view echoed by Dr. Senaratne (himself believed to be a foreign medical graduate) and SAITM’s Vice Chancellor Prof. Malkanthi Chandrasekera. “We use them to teach Latin and medical terminology, philosophy, history of medicine and Russian,” said Dr. Senaratne. In the latest volley fired last week, the SLMC has highlighted “serious deficiencies” pointed out by the review teams which visited the Malabe Medical College before provisional recognition as a degree-awarding institution was granted to it. These include: No facilities for clinical training, no heads of clinical departments, no clinical departments and professorial units and no proof of adequate financial resources. We never expressed satisfaction about the facilities at SAITM nor did we give any assurance that recognition would be granted to SAITM very soon, the SLMC says in no uncertain terms.

Academics object to state-appointed security service at universities

the sunday Times, 25/09/2011
Faculty members of state universities are protesting over a Ministry order that campuses use the services of Defence Ministry security service, Rakna Arakshaka Lanka Ltd. They say the Ministry of Higher Education directive contravenes university regulations. Rakna Arakshaka Lanka is a government-owned commercial security venture that comes under the Ministry of Defence.
The members say the letter from the Secretary to the Ministry of Higher Education bypasses standard procedures in the hiring and outsourcing of services for universities. “That process requires tenders to be called for and a suitable company be selected in a transparent and independent manner,” they said, adding that the Secretary’s instructions violate established processes and principles of governance and autonomy for academic institutions.
The Higher Education Ministry recently announced that the high costs of hiring private security companies has compelled the ministry to appoint a government-owned company to oversee campus security. Professor Gamini Samaranayaka, chairman of the University Grants Commission, maintained that the security of universities was as important as national security.
The academics say they are concerned about increasing state involvement in university matters.
“We are especially concerned about the role the military establishment is increasingly playing in the administrative and academic spheres of the universities, which are a place of free exchange of ideas, critical thinking, and innovation,” the academics said.
They were referring to a leadership training course for new university entrants conducted earlier this year at military centres.

CGPSL says yes to private medical colleges

By S. Selvakumar
The Nation, 25/09/2011
When the majority of the of the country’s medical sector was either opposed or on the verge of opposing the awarding of medical degrees by private sector medical institutions, the College of General Practitioners of Sri Lanka (CGPSL) has come out boldly in support of private sector medical education.
“We whole heartedly support the development of private sector medical education. We have, like in the past, continue to play a pivotal role in private sector medical education in Sri Lanka’, the CGPSL said in statement.
The CGPSL claimed that it created the North Colombo Medical College (NCMC) and when it was vested in the government the College handed back infrastructure for teaching and training including a new library, several large buildings, a professorial wing and a hospital that has been vastly improved. Despite not a cent received as compensation, the GGPSL was proud of the fact that eight hundred odd high calibre NCMC Alumni that are looking after the health of the people of this country as well of those abroad, the statement said.
On lessons learnt in the past, the CGPSL said that it now has a clear policy on private sector medical education in Sri Lanka. Such education should be socially responsible, accountable and regulated by the Sri Lanka Medical Council, it said.
“Social responsibility will include developments in the private sector wherein great care is taken to prevent any harm to the free sector higher education institutions. It would also include the development of hospital facilities which are made available free of charge to citizens of the country and the provision of scholarships for qualified under privileged students,” the statement further said.
It appealed to the powers that be and to those intending to set up private medical educational institutions to pay heed to the recommendations and the guidance of the Sri Lanka Medical Council.

GCE A/L Chemistry set differently: Parents

The Nation, 25/09/2011
Parents of students who sat for the GCE Advanced Level Chemistry examination alleged that injustice had been caused to those who sat for the tests according to the old syllabus.
The parents claim that the paper of the said subject had been set differently for those sitting according to the new syllabus.
The parents claimed that the manner in which the examination papers were set was not fair by the students who sat for the paper according to the old syllabus.
Accordingly, one of the main concerns raised was that those who sat for Paper-1 according to the new syllabus had to answer 50 questions within two hours while those who sat for the examinations under the old syllabus had to answer 60 questions within the same time frame.
It was stated that the first 39 questions for both paper would be common. However, the total marks for the said questions would be higher for those under the new syllabus.
In addition, the parents also pointed out certain irregularities in the essay type questions.
Accordingly, the number of parts in certain questions was more for those of the old syllabus. The time allocated to answer the questions was also less than that given for the students under the new syllabus.
The Examinations Commissioner, Anura Edirisinghe however said that he could not comment on the issue as it was not under his purview. “I ensure that examinations are conducted properly. These issues have to be taken up with the relevant authorities,” he said.

GMOA meets on further action against SB

The Nation, 25/09/2011
The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) will meet today (Sunday) to decide on further action against Higher Education Minister S. B.Dissanayake following his alleged derogatory statement made against GMOA General Secretary Dr. Anurudha Padeniya.
The GMOA is expected to ratify its earlier decision to sue the Minister for damages in a sum of Rs 300 million.
Dissanayake in a recent statement alleged to have said that Dr. Padeniya obtained his qualifications through illegal means by using unacceptable methods on the Higher Education Ministry and on the Post Graduate Institute.
Assistant Secretary of the GMOA Dr. Upul Gunasekera challenged the Higher Education Minister to prove his alleged statement.
According to GMOA sources the matter has been notified to the President, the Cabinet and all associations of medical doctors. (SS)

An appeal against infringement of university autonomy in Sri Lanka

An appeal against infringement of university autonomy in Sri Lanka

23 Sep, 2011 Groundviews Colombo, Education, Features, Politics and Governance, Post-War

The Ministry of Higher Education has issued a directive that all state universities should hire the services of Rakna Lanka Ltd for provision of security services. The undersigned of the University academic community considers that directive to be in complete contravention of the norms and conventions by which universities are expected to function.
The letter issued by the Secretary to the Ministry of Higher Education seeks to bypass standard procedures that are followed in the university system in the hiring and outsourcing of services. That process requires tenders to be called for and for a suitable company to be selected in a transparent and independent manner. The Secretary’s instruction therefore is in violation of established processes and is contrary to the underpinning principles of governance and the autonomy of academic institutions.
Rakna Lanka is held out to be a government owned commercial security venture and has been set up under the Ministry of Defence, under the direct supervision of the Secretary to that Ministry. The website of Rakna Lanka states that only ex-servicemen are hired by the company. The website also provides a list of other state owned departments that have hired the services of Rakna Lanka.
Internationally, privatization of security has been debated on intensely owing to the sensitive nature of what is termed as “security” and how such “security” is maintained. Experiences in other parts of the world suggest that accountability should be increased in the maintenance of security, not decreased. In that light, the directive by the ministry that all security in all state universities should be handed over to one commercial enterprise owned by the state, coming under the supervision of one public officer, becomes problematic. Holding such an entity accountable to the university authorities could, predictably, become difficult.
It is important that universities retain their independence in matters of hiring and recruiting, tailored to suit the individual needs of each university. The authorities should abide by just and fair procedure, engage in dialogue and consultation with the University community, and give due recognition to the positions occupied by University authorities, the Vice Chancellors and others in these matters. It is of the utmost importance that university autonomy is preserved under such circumstances.
We are also concerned about the increasing infringement of university autonomy in matters pertaining to academic programmes and in decision making by the state. We are especially concerned about the role the military establishment is increasingly playing in the administrative and academic spheres of the universities, which are a place of free exchange of ideas, critical thinking, and innovation. We of course have in mind the leadership training programme conducted by the Military to university entrants, which, arbitrarily imposed on all concerned, reduced the authority of the academic community within its own area of purview. This last development of encroachment via hiring procedure by the Ministry of Defence is seen as a further elaboration of this trend of increasing militarization of the universities.
As an academic community we are willing and able to cooperate effectively with the authorities in these and other issues facing university administration and academic quality. We urge the government to respect its obligations toward the academic community and the universities with respect to its written and unwritten contract with the university system.
Signed

1. Ranil Abayasekara, University of Peradeniya
2. Harini Amarasooriya, Open University of Sri Lanka
3. Suresh de Mel, University of Peradeniya
4. Sampath Deegalla, University of Peradeniya
5. Noel Dias, University of Colombo
6. Priyan Dias, University of Moratuwa
7. Lesly Ekanayake, University of Moratuwa
8. Primal Fernando, University of Peradeniya
9. Lakshman Galagedara, University of Peradeniya
10. Ranil D. Guneratne, University of Colombo
11. Camena Guneratne, Open University of Sri Lanka
12. Dileni Gunewardena, University of Peradeniya
13. K. R. B. Herath, University of Peradeniya
14. S. R. Herath, University of Peradeniya
15. Rohini Hewamanna, University of Colombo
16. M. I. M. Ishak, University of Peradeniya
17. Janaki Jayawardena, University of Colombo
18. Romaine Jayewardene, University of Colombo
19. Danesh Karunanayake, University of Peradeniya
20. Parakrama Karunaratne, University of Peradeniya
21. Dulakshi Karunasinghe, University of Peradeniya
22. Gamini Keerawella, University of Peradeniya
23. Manikya Kodithuwakku, Open University of Sri Lanka
24. L. C. Kurukulasuriya, University of Peradeniya
25. Amal Kumarage, University of Moratuwa
26. Shamala Kumar, University of Peradeniya
27. Darshana Liyanage, University of Ruhuna
28. Sanjeeva Maithripala, University of Peradeniya
29. K. P. P. Pathirana, University of Peradeniya
30. A. L. M. Mauroof, University of Peradeniya
31. R. Meegaskubura, University of Peradeniya
32. Nilhan Niles, University of Moratuwa
33. Rathnamali Palamakumbura, University of Peradeniya
34. Susantha Pathirana, University of Peradeniya
35. Asoka Perera, University of Moratuwa
36. Nimal Ratnayake, University of Peradeniya
37. Rohan Ratnayake, Open University of Sri Lanka
38. Asanga Ratnaweera, University of Peradeniya
39. Dinesha Samararatne, University of Colombo
40. Gameela Samarasinghe, University of Colombo
41. I. M. S. Sathyaprasad, University of Peradeniya
42. Kalinga Tudor Silva, University of Peradeniya
43. M. Sitralega, Eastern University
44. Upul Sonnadara, University of Colombo
45. Sumathy Sivamohan, University of Peradeniya
46. Ruvan Weerasinghe, University of Colombo
47. Carmen Wickramagamage, University of Peradeniya
48. B. Dileepa Witharana, Open University of Sri Lanka

Dated: Sept 21, 2011

Huge losses in state institutions: COPE

      Friday,  23 September 2011 05:55, DailyMirror
The Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) has revealed that the government has lost a staggering Rs.10 billion due to the mismanagement, inefficiency and corruption at 24 state institutions from 2010 up to now, the Daily Mirror learns. This is in addition to the annual losses incurred by some of these institutions.

COPE has identified the budget airline ‘Mihin Lanka’ as an institution running at a significant loss right from its inception. The company has incurred a loss of Rs.3.3 billion in 2007/2008 and this has risen to Rs.4.6 billion the following year with the accumulated losses now amounting to Rs.5.7 billion.

Apart from the massive losses it has incurred so far, Mihin Lanka now faces a liability Rs.2.4 billion. COPE observes that figures provided by the company with regard to its financial position were incompatible with the findings of the Auditor General. The company has also failed to provide sufficient evidence in this respect.

The company has failed to pay interest on the Rs.500 million loan obtained from the Airport Aviation Services (Pvt.) Ltd. And this had led to the Treasury having undertaken to settle the loan, thus adding another cost to the state coffers.

The National Gem and Jewellery Authority, State Mortgage and Investment Bank, Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation, Sri Lanka Telecom have also been mentioned as the institutions with serious operational losses over the past years. The COPE said it was alarming to see the accumulation of losses at a rate as high as 90 per cent.

The Gem and Jewellery Authority had lost Rs.7 million due to the violation of a bond signed with the American Gem Traders Association. The revenue had decreased over the years at the institution whereas the expenditure had increased.

At the State Mortgage Bank, a large amount of loans remained outstanding. The profit level had dropped from Rs.312 million in 2005 to Rs.21 million in 2008.

The University Grants Commission had paid Rs.306 million as language proficiency allowance to employees. COPE cited this as a major loss during the year under review.

COPE said at Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation, a post of the Chief Executive Officer has been created though there is no provision for such a post in the Rupavahini Act. The Corporation had not taken action in 2010 to recover Rs.42 million payable by various political parties for the use of its airtime during election times although COPE had given directions in this regard at meetings held previously while Rs.10 million due from Mihin Lanka too had not been recovered. Rs.2.5 million paid as advances to some employees had been written off.

The net profit of the Corporation had dropped from Rs.137 million in 2006 to Rs.4.7 million in 2009.

At Sri Lanka Telecom, the under-payment of telecommunication levy for the period between 2003 to December 2009, had amounted to a staggering Rs.6 billion. The total loss for the year 2008/2009 was Rs.9.3 billion at Sri Lankan Airlines. A net loss of Rs.352 million had been reported under the Fuel Risk Management Programme.

Sri Jayewardenepura University had spent Rs.3 million on a project without getting the ownership of the land verified. The university had maintained a fund called ‘Vice Chancellors Fund’ disregarding legal provisions in this respect. The university had failed to recover Rs.67 million from lecturers who violated the bonds signed with the authorities when going abroad for further studies.  Rs.17 million has to be recovered from Moratuwa University lecturers while Rs.40 million has to be recovered from lecturers attached to the Open University for violating bond agreements. The Buddhist and Pali University, Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute, Lanka Sathosa Ltd, Ceylon Shipping Corporation, Cey Nor Foundation are some of the other institutions where major financial misappropriations have been noted. COPE has meanwhile identified numerous other disputed transactions at these institutions, and the recovery of these loans remains a question.

Private medical colleges will fade away: GMOA

Saturday, 24 September 2011 01:54

By Olindhi Jayasundere, Dailymirror
The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) Central Working Committee, which will meet tomorrow to decide what action should be taken against the controversy-ridden Malabe private medical faculty, said the institution did not have a future in the country.
The Central Working Committee comprises 180 practicing doctors.
GMOA spokesman Upul Gunasekara said the five-member committee appointed by the Health Ministry was expected to release a comprehensive report in two months and further action would be taken thereafter. In the meantime the private medical faculty has been advised to stop admitting new students.
Dr. Gunasekera said in addition to the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM), Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayake hopes to set up two similar private medical colleges in Kandy and Battaramulla and another 21 private medical colleges countrywide.
“The Minister spends a lot of time thinking of the future of these private medical institutions which do not have the necessary standards required to educate young people to join the medical profession. SAITM should be shut down with immediate effect and the parents should demand a refund of their money as this institution is a fraud and has no future in the country,” Dr. Gunasekara said.
He asked why the ministry failed to provide adequate facilities to the Rajarata and Eastern medical faculties which were on the verge of shutting down due to the lack of resources.
“We have been informed that Minister Dissanayake has told Eastern University officials he would shut down the university’s medical faculty if they continued with their protest to obtain their demands. He has assured them the ministry will set up a professorial unit and provide other necessary facilities if they keep quiet,” GMOA Secretary Chandika Epitakaduwa said.
Meanwhile the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) in a statement issued recently said there were glaring deficiencies in SAITM which had not been addressed even after three years of operations in Sri Lanka.
He said SAITM had not provided facilities for clinical training, clinical departments and professorial units had not been established, heads of clinical departments had not been appointed and proof of adequate financial resources had not been provided.
“The gazette notification giving legal recognition to SAITM is premature and as far as we know not in conformity with recommendations of the inspection teams and therefore of the specified authority,” SLMC said.
Meanwhile SAITM Chairman Neville Fernando said the SLMC had accepted SAITM has a degree-awarding institute. He said arrangements have been made to send students to the Homagama Base Hospital and that a MOU has been signed with the Health Ministry for this purpose. He said that a 1002 bed hospital is half complete at the private institution and welcomed the SLMC to visit the site.
“We have recruited the best clinicians in medicine, surgery and other subjects to teach our students and assure that all students at SAITM will be awarded degrees,” Dr. Fernando said.

GMOA demands Rs 300 mn from SB for defaming its head

September 23, 2011, 9:28 pm  The Island

By Don Asoka Wijewardena

The Government Medical Officers Association has decided to demand Rs. 300 million from Higher Education Minister S. B. Dissanayaka, claiming that he has defamed its president Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya.

GMOA General Secretary Dr. Chandika Epitakaduwa, addressing the media yesterday, said that Minister had falsely claimed that Dr Padeniya had failed his MD and thereby was not qualified to be an acting Consultant Paediatric Neurologist at Lady Ridgeway Hospital.

Dr. Epitakaduwa said that Minister Dissanayaka would have to prove that Dr. Padeniya hadn’t obtained the required qualifications.

He said that if Minister Dissanayake failed to pay the GMOA Rs. 300 million

the GMOA would be compelled to institute legal action.Dr. Epitakaduwa said that the medical qualifications of Dr. Padeniya had been recognised by Board of Management, Board of Study, Post Graduate Institute of Medicine (PGIM), Public Service Commission (PSC) and Health Ministry.

Minister Dissanayaka had made a statement that he would dissolve the Sri Lanka Medical Council(SLMC) unless it recognised the Malabe medical school degree, Dr. Epitakaduwa said claiming that the minister had no powers to do so. Only Parliament could dissolve the SLMC, he said.

GMOA to decide next step on Sunday

Friday, 23 September 2011 18:35

DailyMirror   

The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) Central Working Committee will meet on Sunday (25) to decide what action should be taken against the controversial private medical faculty in Malabe stating that the institution will not have a future in the country, the GMOA said today.

The GMOA Central Working Committee membership comprises 180 practising doctors who will decided on what their next step would be. GMOA Spokesman Dr. Upul Gunasekara said the five member committee appointed by the Health Ministry is expected to release a comprehensive report in two months time and that further action will be taken thereafter. In the meantime the private medical faculty has been advised to stop recruiting new students.

Meanwhile Minister of Higher Education S. B. Dissanayake has said that he would set up two similar private medical universities in Kandy and Battaramulla and another 21 private medical universities island wide. (Olindhi Jayasundere)

Published online 14 September 2011 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2011.536

News

Researchers failing to make raw data public

Adherence to data-sharing policies is as inconsistent as the policies themselves.

Zoë Corbyn

She probably won't share her data, even if she's supposed to.PUNCHSTOCK

Scientists are failing to make raw data publicly available, even when prompted to do so by journals, says a study published last week in PLoS ONE ¹.
The study of 500 papers from the 50 highest-impact journals reveals wide variation in data-sharing policies and in researchers' adherence to them. The findings come amid a growing push for sharing raw research data — both to facilitate further research and to better prevent fraud or error.
Twenty-two of the 50 journals surveyed required public sharing of specific raw data as a condition of publication, and another 22 encourage data sharing without binding instruction. Six of the 50 journals give no instruction on data sharing at all.
Looking at the first ten papers published in each journal in 2009, the researchers found that, of the 351 papers covered by some data-sharing policy, only 143 fully adhered to that policy. Neglecting to publish microarray data — such as those produced in gene-expression studies — was the most common offence.
"The current state is not optimal," says study leader John Ioannidis, an expert in data reproducibility at Stanford University School of Medicine in California. "Some journals have pretty good policies and some of the papers adhere to these, but there is plenty of room for improvement".

Slow to change

The study also found that researchers rarely volunteer data. Of all 500 papers analysed, only 47 had their full primary data sets — rather than just the raw data specifically requested by the journals — publicly available. None of the papers published in journals without data-sharing policies deposited their full set of raw data online.
The results echo those of a July study that also found data-sharing practices wanting². That study, led by Heather Piwowar, who studies data sharing at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in Durham, North Carolina, examined more than 11,000 gene expression studies published between 2000 and 2009. Of those, the percentage that had raw data available online increased from less than 5% in 2001 to 35% in 2009.
Ioannidis and Piwowar say that more journals should adopt data-sharing policies and ensure that scientists consistently follow the rules. "You need an extra editorial office and maybe more," says Ioannidis.
Piwowar speculates that journal editors shy away from introducing data-sharing policies for fear of deterring submissions. "Journals can get away with not having policies because it is not yet generally regarded as the norm," she says.

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She urges editors in each field to come together to implement policies simultaneously, as was done with several evolution journals in January 2011 under an initiative called the Joint Data Archiving Policy.
Steven Wiley, a biomolecular systems expert at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington, says the current study does not address the question of why scientists might defy data-sharing policies. Sharing data "is time-consuming to do properly, the reward systems aren't there and neither is the stick", he says.
Even if compliance increases, Wiley says that the scientific community will still need to focus on developing standardized formats to make accessing data more efficient and feasible. "Of all the data that are made available, what fraction is actually used by someone else? I bet the majority isn't," he says.
Although the question isn't addressed in either study, that's something Piwowar is hoping to find out. 

• References

  1. Alsheikh–Ali, A. A., Qureshi, W., Al-Mallah, M. H. & Ioannidis, J. P. A. PLoS ONE 6, e24357 (2011). | Article | PubMed |
  2. Piwowar, H. A. PLoS ONE 6, e18657(2011). | Article | PubMed | ChemPort |