Undergrads step up protests over Malabe PMC

October 3, 2011, 9:50 pm

by Dasun Edirisinghe

Undergraduates yesterday stepped up their protests against the Malabe Private Medical College (PMC) demanding that the government immediately put an end to its plans to award degrees for a fee.

Convener of the Inter University Students Federation, (IUSF) Sanjeewa Bandara told The Island that they would hoist black flags in all universities as a mark of protest and warned of severe action if the government failed to address the issue at hand forthwith.

He insisted that the Malabe PMC functioning as a fee levying degree awarding institute with four batches of students must be closed down.

"The government is trying to privatize the education system in the country by allowing private institutes to award degrees," he said adding that they would oppose the move. He vowed to defeat the government’s move.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has granted approval for nine institutions to award degrees and there were so many requests pending approval. The newest one was the Malabe PMC and it was the government approved first private institution awarding MBBS degrees, the IUSF convener said.

The pro – JVP IUSF, Bandara said, had opposed the private North Colombo Medical College in 1982 forcing the then government to affiliate it to the Kelaniya University.

According to him, the Malabe medical college would lead to the lowering of the quality of the medical practitioners in Sri Lanka and finally affect the innocent patients of the country.

"We have launched the black flag campaign as the second stage of our protest against the Malabe PMC," Bandara said adding they had held demonstrations opposite the government universities during the last two weeks against the government’s new move.

When contacted by The Island for comments, UGC Chairman Prof. Gamini Samaranayake said that the existing universities could not fulfil the demand for higher education due to several reasons.