has SAITM degree awarding status?

By Sandun A Jayasekera
The South Asian Institute of Technology and Management (SAITM) also known as the Malabe Private Medical Faculty has not been granted permission to teach medical science or any related subject but seven other subjects connected to trade and business, the Daily Mirror understands.
SAITM, which had been registered as a BOI project on March 31 2008 has been permitted to teach only seven subjects – Information Technology, Management and Finance, Engineering, Vocational Studies, Nursing, Languages and Health Science.
In a letter to Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) President Lalitha Mendis, the BOI said that based on an application by Dr. Neville Fernando Investment Company (PVT) Ltd. for approval for a Higher Education Institute with an investment of US$5 million had permitted SAITM to only teach the mentioned subjects.
With regard to health science, the BOI said approval was being granted on condition that the Health and Nutrition Ministry permission would be obtained prior to providing training in this subject.
Meanwhile, responding to GMOA Secretary Chandika Epitakaduwa, Prof. Mendis said three SLMC members, after a preliminary inspection on an invitation by the SAITM, had recommended that degree conferring status be not awarded to SAITM.
“No SLMC member has affirmed or recommended a degree awarding status to SAITM as gazetted,” she said insinuating that the gazette notification issued by Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayaka on August 30 granting medical degree awarding status to SAITM was not in accordance with the law.
In another letter sent by former SLMC President H.H.R. Samarasinghe to SAITM President Neville Fernando on May 28, 2009 in response to a request to recognize the four years of study for Medical Degree at Russia’s Nizhny Novogorod State Academy of Medicine, to which  SAITM is affiliated says that the Medical Council had recognized the degree awarded by Nizhny Novogorod State Medical Academy of Russia, for the six-year study course  conducted in Russia.
It further stresses that the SLMC has not recognized any other programme conducted in Sri Lanka or elsewhere by the Nizhny Novogorod State Medical Academy in Russia. However, SAITM Director Dr. Dhammika Perera told Daily Mirror the BOI had granted the degree awarding status to SAITM on February 25,  2009 and the allegations leveled against it were false and bias (Dailymirror)

Private Medical University still in crisis

The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) yesterday charged that the Higher Education Ministry would cripple the medical faculties of local universities by giving legal recognition to the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) a Malabe private medical faculty, which has been the subject of controversy.

Higher Education Minister S. B. Dissanayake last month signed a gazette notification giving legal recognition to SAITM which GMOA spokesman Dr. Upul Gunasekara said was a bad precedent for other institutions which may be established in the future.

He asked why the minister was not paying as much attention to the medical faculties of local universities such as the Rajarata and Batticaloa universities where there was a dire shortage of facilities.

“Why is the minister pushing so hard to legalise this private medical university through gazette notifications, by appointing committees and providing loan schemes when in the first place it does not have the legal right to be there? We should instead focus on the medical faculties at our local universities which are in need of attention,” Dr. Gunasekara said. “The Higher Education Ministry’s decision to legalise it will cripple the medical profession in the country.”

He said all the qualified university lecturers were part time lecturers at medical faculties of local universities, which would come under threat if the ministry went ahead with its decision to give legal recognition to such institutions in future. He said local universities would suffer from a shortage of lecturers as they will choose to work in the private institutions.

He said these lecturers are working at the private university on a temporary basis or are on sabbatical leave which usually is only provided for two years for research purposes. The rest of the staff, he said are unqualified lecturers who have done their studies overseas and that many of them have failed that Act16 examination which gives legal recognition to medically qualified doctors in Sri Lanka. He said the institution’s vice chancellor was also holding a part time position at the institution as she works at the Peradeniya University as the Professor of Anatomy. Meanwhile the Health Ministry and the Sri Lankan Medical Council have still not given their approval to the Malabe private medical faculty. (Olindhi Jayasundere) Dailymirror

Higher Education Ministry responds Thursday, 15 September 2011 00:30  Dailymirror  The Higher Education Ministry yesterday dismissed allegations by the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) and assured that the medical faculties of local universities countrywide would not be hampered by legalising of the private medical university in Malabe. Higher Education Ministry consultant and former University Grants Commission (UGC) Vice Chairman Rohan Rajapakse said the ministry intends to increase facilities for universities countrywide through a World Bank grant meant solely for the purpose of developing tertiary education in Sri Lanka. Prof. Rajapakse maintained that the private medical institute in Malabe was a legitimate institution which had the legal right to continue functioning in Sri Lanka. He said the Universities Act of 1978 gives the Higher Education Ministry the degree granting the right to any institution and that therefore the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) was a legal institution although the GMOA has stated otherwise. Rajapakse said it is not necessary for medical lecturers to pass the Act16 exam as it is not mandatory for them to be practising doctors to be recruited into the academic staff. “The Ministry and the UGC have recognised the importance of developing universities. Therefore no one can say we haven’t given enough attention to these matters. Therefore the accusations made by the GMOA are incorrect,” he said. He said local university lecturers valued their jobs and would not choose to take up full-time positions in private institutions despite such claims being made by the GMOA. However lectures are encouraged to take their sabbatical to work in private institutions, he said. Through the World Bank grant better facilities will be made available to the Jaffna, Eastern and South Eastern universities in the first category of tertiary education development plans, he said. (Olindhi Jayasundere)