Students leaving Malabe PMC – GMOA

It’s only a false rumour - Dr. Fernando

October 27, 2011, 10:32 pm

By Don Asoka Wijewardena

The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) yesterday accused the South Asian Institute of Technology and Management (SAITM) of cheating a large number of students and their parents.

GMOA Assistant Secretary Dr. Upul Gunasekera said some parents had sought the GMOA’s help to get refunds and the GMOA in turn had requested the Ministries of Health, Defence, Justice and Finance to help the disgruntled parents get their refunds.

Speaking to the media, at the GMOA head office yesterday, Dr. Gunasekera said that the gazette notification 1721/19 of 30. 8. 211 was questionable. Although a month had elapsed, the requirements stipulated had not been fulfilled. It was not clear whether the degree awarding status was provisional or permanent.

Dr. Gunasekera said though the Malabe medical school did not have clinical training facilities, it had announced that it had access to two private hospitals for clinical training. The SAITM management had not even informed the parents of the students where clinical training would be done.

It was the right of every patient, admitted either to a private hospital or State-run hospital, to be aware whether they were subject to examination by medical students and their informed consent should be obtained for that purpose, Dr. Gunasekera said claiming that no receipts had been issued to parents who had made payments to the Malabe private medical college.

GMOA Assistant Secretary Dr. Sankalpa Marasinghe said that it had been revealed in newspapers that some students who had enrolled at the Malabe medical school had not passed the GCE A/L. The GMOA would be compelled to request the UGC and all other relevant authorities to inquire into that matter urgently, he said.

Contacted for comment, Malabe Private Medical School Director Dr. Neville Fernando dismissed all allegations levelled by the GMOA as baseless. No parent had sought to withdraw students, he insisted. Parents were not supposed to pay direct to the school. They were advised to pay the school through a bank. Once parents made payments the Banks would issue them with receipts, he said.

Dr. Fernanado added that he had invited all GMOA office bearers to have a discussion on the issue, but there had been no positive response. It was not compulsory for any medical student to go to Russia to complete his or her final examination. Any student after successful completion of four years would be able to sit the final examination. The Malabe medical school would issue a recognized MBBS degree, Dr. Fernando said.

Several rival organisations had, Dr. Fernando said, launched a mud-slinging campaigns against the Malabe medical school. His medical school conducted its affairs in a very transparent manner, he said inviting the GMOA and other critics to have a dialogue without spreading false rumours.