Military accused of attack on Jaffna Uni. students

October 26, 2011, 10:38 pm, The Island 


by Dasun Edirisinghe

Undergraduates yesterday alleged that the military deployed in Jaffna was responsible for attacking Jaffna university students. One student was still warded with head injuries.

Convener of the Inter University Students Federation (IUSF) Sanjeewa Bandara told The Island that there were 55,000 military personnel deployed in the Jaffna area, but they were not able to prevent attacks on students.

"The Students’ Council of the university protested on Oct. 17 against attacks on undergraduates four days back," he said adding that in return the President of the Students’ Council was attacked on Oct. 25 around 7.30 p.m.

The undergraduate, P. Kaviraj, is still undergoing treatment in Ward No. 28 of the Jaffna teaching hospital, Bandara said.

Criticizing the security forces in the peninsula, he said that the Jaffna police failed to act on their complaint and arrest anyone.

According to him, the military was not allowing even a peaceful demonstration to be conducted in the Jaffna area.

"We will launch a countrywide protest campaign against these attacks from next Monday," Bandara said adding that the government must stop targeting student leaders who shout against its corruptions and malpractices.

When contacted by The Island for comments, military spokesman Brigadier Nihal Hapuarachchi denied that the security forces were involved in the incident.

He said that the students pointed a figure at the security forces, but they did not complain to the police.

"After a proper complaint, if police ask for an investigation the Army could hold it," Hapuarachchi said.

The Minor offences branch of the Jaffna police said that the undergraduate was injured in a clash between those who support ragging and those against it.

A police officer said however, they investigate the complaint made by students and one student surrendered to the police in connection with the attack.

"We produced him in Court," he said.

When The Island contacted the Director of Jaffna hospital to inquire about the condition of warded student, she referred us to Consultant surgeon of the ward, but he was not available for immediate comments.

Duty Medical Officer of the Ward No. 28 refused to comment on the injured undergraduate.

GMOA wants salaries of public servants increased

The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) said today the number of skilled professionals in the government sector was fast declining because of the gross discrepancies in salaries between professionals in the public and private sectors.

Speaking on behalf of all government sector employees, the GMOA urged the authorities to increase their salaries, which was long overdue. GMOA Secretary Dr. Sankalpa Marasinghe said according to the salary structure introduced in 2006 government employees were expected to receive salary increments but that had not happened.

“Skilled workers and professionals are grossly underpaid. The lowest salary of a government employee is Rs.12,500 while the highest is Rs.50,000,” Dr. Marasinghe said. He said the salary compression ratio which is one to four, should be increased to one to 12. In the private sector salary ratios should be increased up to 1000.

Dr. Marasinghe said skilled professionals in the government sector are now scarce due to the low salaries. “There are very few chartered accountants or engineers employed in the government sector. However an overwhelming number of doctors are in the government sector,” he said adding that 16,000 doctors are employed in the government sector.

The GMOA today met the Salaries and Cardre Commission and requested for a meeting with the Treasury Secretary and other officials to negotiate salary increments in the 2012 budget. He said discussions would continue in the coming weeks. (Olindhi Jayasundere)

C’bo Uni. Management faculty closed following clash

October 25, 2011, 9:42 pm


by Dasun Edirisinghe

The Management Faculty of the Colombo University was shut down yesterday, until further notice, following clashes between two rival student groups.

The faculty premises were declared out of bounds for all students except for the first-year undergraduates, university sources said adding that the decision to close down the faculty was taken following clashes over ragging incidents.

Immediately following the incident security was beefed up in the area with police personnel being deployed, police spokesman SP Ajith Rohana said adding that a police inquiry into the incident was underway.

The Vice-Chancellor of Colombo University, Prof. Kshanika Hirimburegama said that the Management Faculty had been closed for all but first-year students.

She said that the conflict between the two factions in the Management Faculty had prevailed for several years and that a committee had been appointed to look into yesterday’s incident.

Appropriate action would be taken to suspend the students belonging to the two groups involved in the incident, she said.

Several students received minor injuries and sought medical attention from the Colombo National Hospital, university sources said. One of the injured has been warded at the CNH.

Senior Students Counsellor Premakumara de Silva said that all senior students had been ordered to vacate their hostels with immediate effect. The clash was between two student groups for and against ragging. Ragging would be eliminated from the university at any cost and the students found guilty would be punished, he added.

 

Doctors ask for five-fold pay hike

October 24, 2011, 8:59 pm

By Emanthi Marambe

The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) yesterday insisted on a five-fold basic salary increase from this year’s Budget.

Addressing a media briefing at the GMOA head office in Colombo, GMOA President Dr. Anurudda Padeniya said that government doctors expected a salary increase based on the proposals of the National Salary Policy drafted in 2006.

Dr. Padeniya said that a government doctor currently drew a salary of between Rs. 26,000 and Rs.42,000 while a specialist doctor received a basic salary of Rs. 42,000. "If the government is unable to grant a substantial salary increment to doctors, one cannot prevent them from leaving the public sector for the private sector or going abroad," he said.

Five years had lapsed since the introduction of the national salary policy but no salary revision, based on this policy, had been granted to doctors so far, Dr Padeniya said. "We hope that the government would take action to grant our due increments in the forthcoming budget," he said.Representatives of the GMOA had held talks with the government two months ago on the issue of their salary increments and the authorities had agreed to grant their request, he said.

Dr. Padeniya said that a doctor was entitled to a monthly fuel allowance of Rs. 21,000 and that had been approved in 2008 but its implementation had been delayed causing much inconvenience to doctors working in remote areas, including the North and the East.

Dr. Padeniya pointed out that the doctors would no longer be able to work in the public sector hospitals if the government continued to ignore them and delayed their due salary increments. "It is inevitable that the doctors will either move to private practicing or go abroad for better income," he said.

The Budget Proposals are due to be presented to Parliament on Nov 22.

Forum on Corporate environment sustainability

Priyanka Kurugala

The 16th International Forestry and Environment Symposium organized by the Department of Forestry and Environment Science of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura will be held from October 28-29 2011.
The Department of Forestry and Environment Science, University of Sri Jayewardenepura is organizing a "Forum on Corporate Environment Sustainability" on October 28 from 7 pm at the Golden Rose Conference Center, Boralesgamuwa in line with the 16th Annual International Forestry and Environment Symposium.
The objective of this forum is to educate and create awareness among the private sector on emerging trends in Corporate Environment Sustainability, Head of the Forestry and Environment Prof Hiran Amarasekera said. Contact Jithya Wijesinghe on 0715870146 for further details.

Agriculture: Not talked about enough

October 23, 2011, 6:30 pm


Welcome

Welcome to the sixty second edition of this regular column. Here, we discuss a wide range of topics around Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), many aspects of Business, Education, Entrepreneurship, Creativity, Innovation and the Society at large.

Last week, one of my friends pointed out to me that although so many columns have been written under ‘The Catalyst’, I haven’t touched on Agriculture so far. That made me think. True, here and elsewhere, there is a lack of discussion about the Sri Lankan agriculture sector as well as agri-based businesses we could do. I felt like it would be worthy to discuss the importance of it for our country.

Agriculture in Sri Lanka

While there hasn’t been much discussion over the topic, the sector hasn’t been performing that bad over a period of time. According to Central bank reports, paddy produce has increased year on year. There had been 2,859,000 metric tons in 2002 while it has been 3,246,000 metric tons of paddy in 2005. The result in 2009 has been 3,652,000 metric tons while 2011 is over 4,000,000 metric tons. Even the tea and rubber exports have increased. Coconut has slightly come down though.

If we consider the total GDP, the agriculture sector falls behind industry and services.

About 32% of the direct employment of the entire country comes from this sector. A bit surprisingly, this percentage hasn’t come down significantly in the last 10 years.

Generally speaking, today we are self sufficient in terms of the rice production and there were reports that a smaller stock was even donated to Africa recently. Which is good. If we can achieve the same for all food items, that will be great. It is an open world and importing and exporting of different consumables, products and services are a must between countries. However, food, what we eat, ideally should be produced within the country. Even countries like USA, UK and Australia, which are supposedly developed in terms of industry, in fact take agriculture very seriously. They all have a sound and strong agricultural and agri-based products sector.

Still, in Sri Lanka, traditional agriculture doesn’t seem to be flourishing as we would like it to be, at the ground level for the people involved. I take part in a radio program for FM Derana titled ‘Ape Gama’, so I get a chance to hear what ground level people do, say, go through and feel. As there is a focus on the rural sector, we interact with farmers and that’s a great firsthand experience.

New Generation

One area that needs attention is the point that farming is not perceived as an exciting career option by the younger generation. While statistics show that the percentage involved in agriculture hasn’t significantly changed, when you talk to farmers you will feel it’s not the first choice among youngsters. Why?

We are a nation based on agriculture. Even our culture has its roots in agriculture. Some 70% of people live in non-urban areas and they all have something to do with agriculture even though they might not be directly employed in it. It is in the blood. But why have we failed to make it an exciting option for the new generations?

Firstly, the economics is one area. Secondly it’s the perception that newer jobs in offices and industry are better. Then again is it really? A job is a job. As long as it gives self satisfaction to the individual, helps the society and provides enough economic benefit for the individual, then it has to be a good career option. If the relevant authorities can do their bit to ensure that those involved receive a sufficient income through farming, then a part of it is taken care of.

As a nation we need to work on improving the perception so that people feel that farming is a good career option. Mass scale projects like Divi Neguma which tries to encourage everyone to have their own vegetable garden is a good initiative so that social understanding on the importance is increased.

In the olden days Sri Lankans used to say ‘mada soda gath kala goviya raja kamatath sudusui’, which means the farmer is even suitable to be the king after washing off the mud. We need to make that statement meaningful today!

Media and Technology

Media projects like ‘Shoora Goviya’ which was on Derana TV would also help challenge the perception. If you can become a star by dancing or singing, why can’t you be so by farming where you actually feed this nation?

‘Manussakama’ project of CIC is also a commendable project to take farming to the mainstream mediums. Wasantha Dukkgannarala’s role in taking farming from rural areas to mainstream media over various programs over the years is admirable.

The media presence is strong in the country, and utilising them for things that this nation really need is the sensible thing to do. Unfortunately, a lot of air time is used for things that don’t add much value to this country or the people.

‘Navagoviya’ Project which aims to educate farmers in the use of information technology for agriculture was inaugurated together with Information & Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) (http://www.navagoviya.org/) and is another good initiative.

But we need more of those!

Middlemen and low income needs to be tackled. Technology could be used for this. ICT would be a very useful tool. A few weeks ago we spoke of a concept by Tilak Dissanayake (tilak@antsglobal.lk) that uses the strengths of existing technologies such as ICT (Information and Communications Technology), electronics, compressed air motors, and wind energy and has combined in innovative ways to resolve the long standing issue of getting fresh produce to the market at a fair price to both producers and consumers.

On the other hand one reason that farming is considered a good career option in countries like Australia is the use of technology. Youngsters don’t necessarily feel they live in the past as agriculture actually moves with time. We need that involvement too. If we don’t, we wouldn’t be able to compete on the production or the cost scale of the other countries anyway.

Education

One other area that needs attention is the education system. In a country like ours, the agriculture should be better covered in it. But I should say that its covered minimally. If we are to create an interest then it’s easier if children are exposed to it in the early stages. In addition we need to check whether we are properly utilising agriculture graduates from our universities. I have a few friends who studied agriculture from Peradeniya and Ruhuna universities, but they actually didn’t pick agriculture related careers after completing their studies. They work in banks and the like. Why is that? We haven’t brought it out as a career. If something is considered a proper career, then there should be positions for different levels of education and different areas of interest.

Agri Businesses

Emphasis should be placed on the importance of making people aware about the business side of agriculture.

As long as people perceive farming to be the same old traditional vocation, the new generation wouldn’t see a career or future in it. And also, in countries where agriculture has become a big business, it’s actually done as a business. So, we need to discuss and promote the ways that agriculture and agri-related areas can be made into business ventures. It could well be SMEs, but start from there and help people to take it forward.

If you take the full span of agriculture, we can identify main phases such as Crop cultivation, Water management, Fertilizer Application, Fertigation, Pest management, Harvesting, Post harvest handling, Transporting of food/food products, Packaging, Food preservation, Food processing/value addition, Food quality management, Food safety, Food storage and Food marketing. And that’s a lot and there would be a million business ideas within them. Promoting the concepts of entrepreneurship, especially around identifying opportunities and evaluating them is key. But it has to be promoted in a way that the message hits the ground.

FM Derana - Ape Gama aims to empower the rural sector, the agriculture as well as the SMEs to see the exciting side of it and move forward with determination.

Get in Touch

If you have an event or a group that you would like me to talk to, I can see if I can make some time for such activities. I am happy to speak to groups about the ICT/BPO sector, youth leadership, business, careers, communication skills, soft skills and entrepreneurship. I always take pleasure from such activities.

If you have any feedback, please drop a note to yva@lankabpoacademy.lk

By the way, last weeks’ topic was Customer Service. If you missed it can be found online at http://pdfs.island.lk/2011/10/17/b4.pdf . After reading it, a couple of people told me about their interesting customer service experiences, some good, some bad and some ugly! If you like, you can share them with us through the above email address and those could give some points for us to discuss in the future to improve these services in Sri Lanka.

See you next week!



The Columnist

Yasas Vishuddhi Abeywickrama is a professional with significant experiences. In 2011 he was recognised as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP) in Sri Lanka. Yasas has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from University of Colombo and a Masters degree in Entrepreneurship & Innovation from Swinburne University in Australia. He has worked in the USA, UK, Sri Lanka & Australia and being trained in the USA & Malaysia. He is currently involved in the training organisation, Lanka BPO Academy (www.lankabpoacademy.lk). Apart from this column, he is a regular resource person for ‘Ape Gama’ program of FM Derana (Sunday 3-5pm). Yasas is happy to answer your relevant questions – email him at yva@lankabpoacademy.lk .

Private Medical College - a dIfferent point of view

October 23, 2011, 7:09 pm


By Dr. Sankalpa Marasinghe

I read with disbelief and dismay, the "point of view" of one Mr. Edward Gunawardena, on ‘The Island’ newspaper, 17th October 2011. I was even more astonished to see the same letter repeated in The Island on 18th October. Despite the rumors of SAITM allocating Rs 20 million as their "media budget", I truly believe it was an unintended mistake by the newspaper; my only hope is that this reply would also get repeated "by mistake" on two days.

Claiming himself to be an "Advisor" to the UGC during the dispute of NCMC (North Colombo Medical Faculty) he has repeatedly mislead the public. It would be in the best interest of the country to keep such advisors away from the current business of the UGC.

While it is required to respond to the allegations leveled against the GMOA by Mr Gunawardena it is pertinent to expose what he is trying to hide and how his writing deceive the average reader, helped by his entry to the subject with his own claims of being someone involved in the UGC and university matters.

1. Free education

"In fact Free education does not exist anymore"

Says Mr Gunawardena! On what evidence does he declare so? I quote His Excellency the president at a recent press discussion "I will not curtail the free education of the country’s children". http://www.adaderana.lk/news.php?nid=11792. If there is no "free education" in existence, what was his Excellency talking about? But according to Mr Gunawardena "As long as we have fools and opportunists in politics the abolition of free education will not be considered"

Declarations by individuals who do not understand even the basis of free education are not just deceiving but grossly damaging to the precious system of free education. While accusing GMOA of being "irrational" Mr Gunawardena attempts to hoodwink the public by baseless statements. Let me remind him what the word free education really means.

The government provides primary secondary and tertiary education free of charge to the public. How does government afford such a facility? Especially in a country like ours where the economy is still developing? This is the argument by many who think that the explanation appearing in their own small brain is in fact the reality. However, the answer is TAX. We pay taxes and that tax money is the government’s source of revenue. What if we did not have free education? Suppose the primary education costs Rs 10,000/= per month per child. A father who has two young kids schooling, should have at least Rs 20,000/= more in his pocket to give them education. A Grade II medical officer (doctor) whose basic salary is Rs 28095.00/= should have to be paid Rs 48,000.00/= !! (for the pay slip of a government medical officer annex1). Not only the government servants but also the private sector workers will have to be paid at least Rs 20,000/= extra.

It should be realized that the economics of services provided by the Government is not so simple as Mr Gunawardena says. It is a cycle and the Money of the country is cycled and "free education" is a name for a particular stage of the cycle. Contrary to the propagated "idea" that free education has fallen out of the skies, it should be appreciated that the concept of free education is a solid and deep economic strategy which even the developed countries are now returning to. It is an investment which has given Sri Lanka a long term benefit.

Another misconception which is doing the rounds these days is that "everything is being privatized and why not education"? Even in the mother land of capitalism, education is NOT privatized! Margaret Thatcher, the greatest ambassador of capitalism did NOT privatize higher education and especially NOT medical education. Free education is not a concept which necessarily belongs to either Capitalism or Socialism. It’s an advanced economic strategy with proven benefits over others. It is not outdated and it certainly is NOT useless!

Opposition to free education is not a new development. Even at the inception, C W W Kannangara had to face opponents within his own party who later became national leaders. The arguments were the same as now and only difference was that there was that those voices were not paid back then.

It should be emphasized that even the Medical faculty which the SAITM claims to have an "affiliation", with Nyshny Novgorod State Medical Academy is a state medical faculty in Russia!

However, it is due to such ignorant "advisors" in the past that the country has suffered immensely with losses of many young lives. Advising to award the Colombo medical faculties (CMF) degree, MBBS (Col) which was given to students who gets selected to CMF with the highest aggregates in GCE A/L to the Ragama private medical college (NCMC) which had selected students who had done even Home Science for their A/Ls was the blunder of the century !

It is worthwhile to recollect that there were two futile attempts to start PMCs, the North Lanka Medical faculty and the Vignan institute, after the collapse of NCMC and before SAITM.

So in reality, free education does exist and it is one of the most successful economic and educational strategies the world over.

2. Doctors and their conduct

"What a village midwife did some years ago is today performed by a FRCOG (London) assisted by a MBBS (Col) and a team of nurse in an Air conditioned, Sterilised theatre and what cost to the patient"

Ignorance is one thing but Mr Gunawardena has introduced a whole new meaning to the phrase "foot in his mouth"

If what the "Village midwife did" were to persist we would have had a maternal mortality rate to be displayed "deaths per 1000 live births". However, Sri Lankan maternal mortality rate is 39.6 deaths per 100000 live births (one lakh live births)!! A phenomenal figure comparable with developed countries in the world. Our Neonatal mortality rate is 11.2 per 1000 live births! It is the blabbering of those ignorant that spoil such an achievement. Further, it is the dedicated work of not only the doctors but the well trained midwives and the nursing staff together with all other auxiliary staff which helped to achieve this state.

It seems Mr Gunawardena is still living in the 1950s. Sri Lanka has long established the Post Graduate Institute of Medicine (PGIM). Doctors who only have FRCOG are NOT certified to be consultants in this country any more. We have surpassed the stage of dependency to the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and our PGIM and the board of study is comparable to any other in the world. Sri Lankan specialists are qualified with Sri Lankan post graduate degrees. They complete a mandatory foreign training period after which they are evaluated and given the board certification. It is a very stringent procedure with equal status to any other foreign country. The consultants and their respective colleges in Sri Lanka overlook the training and the practice of the relevant field in the country.It is such a shame that individuals who are unqualified to appraise the subject are wasting an entire page of a National newspaper (twice in one week) to discuss matters they do not understand.

Mr Gunawardena asks "at what cost" the patients are treated in Air conditioned theatres? Well for Mr Gunawardena’s information almost all labor rooms of state hospitals in the country are now being air-conditioned. And the patients are not charged a cent!

"…….do these qualifications alone make one a specialist doctor?"

Yes they do !!

Because, unlike a qualification in any other field, in medicine the qualifications are not given for paper work. That’s why it takes 10 to 15 years for a doctor to become a specialist. It is a training and an

evaluation process. It is a process of continuous assessment. The training ends only when a panel of "judges" recommends that the competency is adequate. And the training is not necessarily confined

to clinical skills only. It should be emphasized that the "status" and the "competence" of Sri Lankan specialists should not be discredited because of Mr Gunawardena’s ignorance.

Mr Gunawardena’s wisdom could not be any better than a village damsel’s

as explained by his prediction that "Very soon the MBBS will be replaced by degrees such as Bachelor of Cardiology, Bachelor of Oncology, Bachelor of Nephrology, Bachelor of Urology etc".

It is such a shame that individuals who do not have even an ounce of knowledge of what a basic degree or what a post graduate degree is are making comments about subjects they do not comprehend. The University of Peradeniya would not be very proud of this son she has produced.

3. Honor and ethics

Mr Gunawardena seems to have developed a serious liking to the individuals who started the "malambe" institute. While questioning the morale and the ethics of GMOA and the doctors of state sector, he praises the individual who claim himself to be a "professor"!. May I ask, a professor in what? There is no practice of granting professorships to individuals similar to the doctorates given to every Tom and Dick. The chair of professor is a post given by a university after accomplishing a very high level of qualification. Prof A H Sheriffdeen, who had written an article to The Island on 20th September 2011 (http://pdfs.island.lk/2011/09/20/p9.pdf) explains how detrimental it is to open PMCs without standards. There are people waiting to cash in on the outcome of the current debate and like opening up "international schools" and " BOI approved Chinese hospitals" we may see a mushrooming of such institutions which even the judicial system may not be able to prevent. Unlike the infamous "professor" at "malambe", Prof Sheriffdeen is an emeritus professor in surgery and arguably the best product of Sri Lankan surgical teaching fraternity and many of us are simply fortunate enough just to have been his students. It is such a disgrace to see such a title being misused and Mr Gunawardena seems to have seen no evil in it.

However, he seems to be very concerned about the local graduates and their standards. He claims that "many of the MBBS graduates who pass out from the state medical faculties are themselves doubtful of the quality and standard of their own degrees". How many local graduates came to Mr Gunawardena and told so, may I ask? Rather than making unsubstantial comments, he should bring evidence to prove what he claims.

It is evident that somebody has given Mr Gunawardena the list of departments in the "malambe" PMC. He is "impressed" by the departments which are not found in any other medical faculty in the world such as "Latin", "Medical history" etc. However, the serious deficiency of permanent staff and the relevant departments has been conveniently omitted.

Mr Gunawardena has accused the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) on several accounts. Failing to stop "exploitation" of patients is one of them. This writer has been able to obtain a comment from Vidyajothi, Prof Lalitha Mendis, the president of SLMC.

"There are over 16000 doctors working in Sri Lanka at the moment. SLMC will investigate any formal complaint against any registrant with regard to unethical conduct. However, the Sri Lanka Medical Council is not only concerned about the exploitation of the patients by doctors but also exploitation of unsuspecting parents by bogus medical schools" she said.

Finally, why the Government Medical Officers’ Association opposes the "malambe" PMC?

The stated grievance of the GMOA is that no private institution can be allowed to function if it does not conform to standards according to Mr Edward Gunawardena.

Exactly ! However, GMOA is not the first and certainly not the only opposition the ill-conceived "malambe" campus has. The SLMC from its inception (2009) has made clear that the said institution does not have its recognition. Dr H H R Samarasinghe, who was the president of SLMC at the time and whom Mr Gunawardena claims to have had worked with has written to the management of the "malambe" PMC and informed that it is not recognized by the SLMC. Many paid advertisements were published by the SLMC instructing the public of the same. Yet, the "pioneers" have persisted and did not heed the call of the SLMC. Following are the facts in a nut shell.

1. "malambe" institution had NO BOI approval to start a medical faculty.

(BOI letter 2010.08.09)

2. No SLMC recognition, even though the institution repeatedly advertised that they have.

(SLMC letter 2009.05.28)

3. No affiliation with the Nyshny Novgorod State Medical Academy and the students of the faculty will NOT get MBBS (NNSMA)

Excerpts from the MOU between the two institutions; 1.4:- Upon obtaining the official recognition of the medical faculty in Sri Lanka, the duration of the course in SAITM is 5 years with student intake of about 100 students per year in accordance with the curriculum of NNSMA and on completion of the course graduates are awarded degree of SAITM.

NB: this MOU is not an agreement of affiliation. In fact it is a "contract agreement in providing services on Teaching in General Medicine"

4. No teaching hospital; which is a pre-requisite for any medical faculty.

NB: a functioning 300 bedded hospital is a mandatory requirement to even submit an application for a medical faculty in India.

The list of undelivered promises is as follows.

a. 2009:- A high-tech teaching hospital will be constructed (UGC report 19th November 2011)

b. 2009 at first intake:- Clinical training in Russia (SAITM brochure)

c. 2010:- Clinical training at an 800 bedded private hospital. (No private hospital in this country is equipped with 800 beds)

d. 2010/2011:- Clinical training at Homagama and Avissavella base hospital. (No health Ministry approval to acquire such a facility)

e. 2011:- 1004 bedded teaching hospital will be constructed ???

5. No permanent teaching staff; all the lecturers are either on sabbatical leave or on part time basis. However, a "promise" by the entrepreneur has gone in vain; I will get best professors and lecturers not only from Sri Lanka but also from UK and Australia" – letter to SLMC president

6. Entry criteria for students are at best questionable. According to a newspaper article on Divaina 20th October 2011 students who don’t even have 3 S passes at GCE A/L are enrolled. http://www.divaina.com/2011/10/20/news02.html



Editor’s Note:
Dr. Marasinghe levels a veiled allegation against us that the ‘media budget’ of the Malabe PMC had something to do with the article at issue. We would like to tell him with due respect that The Island cannot be swayed by moneybags unlike some unscrupulous doctors who have sold their souls to the Pharmaceutical Mafia for foreign trips, milk food for their offspring, tyres for their vehicles, television sets, refrigerators, hampers, sponsorships for their official and social functions etc.

IUSF accuses govt. of cutting allocations to education

October 23, 2011, 9:25 pm


by Dasun Edirisinghe

The JVP affiliated powerful students union IUSF claimed yesterday that the government while allowing private educational institutions in Sri Lanka, has cut down the funds for state sector education next year, according to the appropriation bill presented to parliament on Oct. 18.

Convener of the Inter University Students Federation, Sanjeewa Bandara told The Island that the government had allocated 2.6 per cent on school education out of the total expenditure, down from 3 per cent last year.

For the higher education sector, the government allocated 2 per cent from the total expenditure last year but this time it was 1.9 per cent, he said.

"President Rajapaksa’s government cut down funds for both school education and higher education from 2007," Sanjeewa said adding that it was paving the way for privatising free education system.

He said that Rajapaksa government had cut down the capital expenditure on education by 50 per cent since 2005.

The government allocated Rs 8044 for the national schools in 2007 and it had been reduced to Rs. 3869 million in 2011. The reduction is over 50 per cent, said Bandara.

He said that the government allocated Rs. 9483 for higher education in 2010 and it was reduced to Rs. 8118 million in 2011. The government had cut down Rs. 1370 from higher education sector in 2011.

"Rajapaksa government has allocated the lowest percentage to the education sector from the Gross Domestic Production in the history." The government, he said, did not increase at least Mahapola payments of undergraduates but gave tax concessions to the private higher education institutions.

According to their calculations, the Mahapola payments should be increased to Rs. 4000 with the current cost of living, but it was still Rs. 1500.

"We will protest to force the government to increase the allocations for the education," said Bandara.

High Tech – High Cost: The Dilemma of Health system

October 22, 2011, 6:07 pm


Dr. K. M. Wasantha Bandara

I thank Sunday Island for publishing - in its issue of October 9th - the enlightening speech delivered by Dr. Deepthi Attygalle at the inauguration of sessions of the Galle Medical Association. In the light of present day mainstream trend in the practice of medicine, the title, "From the art of health to mark of high tech" itself draws a great deal of attention. She seems to be of a different breed who is brave enough to challenge the conscience of the medical elite. I bow my head in honour.

Today in our market driven socio political system every aspect of life is being commercialized. The practice of medicine is no expectation not only in Sri Lanka but world over, So called "supply and demand driven by economists" encourage competition among providers at health care as a tool of Improving quality of medical care. Contrary to that expectation the health care providers are Indiscriminately introducing technologies that are far from being scientific interventions as tools of gaining the competitive edge. This situation world wide has lead to a vicious cycle of High Tech - High Cost and funding cuts – low outcome in the health care delivery systems.

The policy makers who promote so called competition conveniently ignore the fact that demand for medical care in induced by the suppliers themselves. Although not very much talked of, there is enough evidence that in the case of health care market undue competition escalate costs and undermines the delivery system itself.

At a time when delivery of medical care centered on the doctor or the practitioner the tools of competition were professional knowledge, competence and the ability of being responsive to the expectations of the patients. In that system although there was certain degree of supplier driven demands escalation that did not lead to high cost of care in the delivery system. Today in institutionalized and industrialized practice of medicine the tool of competition is technology where indiscriminate use is supplier’s choice.

As Dr. Deepthi points out, this trend is very much facilitated out only by the capital owners of the private hospitals and medical professionals, but by the patients or the customers themselves. In the modern consumerist word there is a convenient belief that the higher the technological inputs the higher the quality of the outcome. In reality patients randomly experience that there is no such relationship except for escalation costs. But the patients have no choice other than accepting the recommendations of the care providers.

Today this vicious practice of High Tech - High Cost is very much encouraged by various health Insurance schemes. In the USA cost of health care accounts for 13.5% of the G.D.P. yet there are so many millions of people without any subsidized health care plans. In that system about 30% of the health care cost account for insurance overhead. There, the insurance is a two-edged sword, where on one side insurance encourage the use of high cost technology and on the other, having an insurance leads high administrations over head in the health care system.

In any country there are limitations in the healthcare funding. As such, High Teach – High Cost approach invariably leads to rationing of very same services in the government sector and depriving of services in the private sectors. This type of rationing actually does not control the indiscriminate application across all the segments in the society. But it is a type of rationing that make services available to the well connected people or the higher segments in the society. Also indiscriminate allocations of the funds to acquire so called advance technology leads to shortages of funding in other vital areas of healthcare delivery system. More often the funding is deprived to public health sectors leading to deprivation of basic are to vulnerable segments. So, ultimately the technology which is considered to be a tool of improvement of individual care, undermines the quality of health care delivery systems.

Dr. Deepthi in her long speech gives us an insight as to how in the recent past the art of medical care has transformed itself into a science of high tech and high cost. She convinces us that the answer to indiscriminate industrialization of practice of medicine leads to Injustice in the system is to bring back the practice of art of medicine in to the system. No doubt any medical elite who is highly benefited by the present trend will in his or her heart agree with Dr. Deepthi. But will they simply change their economic behaviours just because the naked truth is bleeding In their eyes. Will that change the attitudes and behaviours of the hospital owners as well as the patients?

The High Tech - High Cost system is sustained and thrives on very attractive incentive scheme targeting at medical practitioners especially the specialists. They are offered as high as 20% as commissions by the laboratory and hospital owners for investigations and medical, surgical or radiological procedures they recommend or order. In some cases pharmacists also offer commissions for certain high cost medications that are prescribed. Most of all when patients demand such expensive investigations or interventions or medications, even a right minded practitioner will be helpless in the present day competition among specialist practitioners. So ultimately the high tech – high cost system is sustained on more use – more commission platform.

In my personal opinion there is no magic wand strategy that would change the spoilt minds of those stake holders overnight. Precondition for change in the status is to establish a meaningful dialog on the issue which Dr. Deepthi has already initiated. At least in fairness to her I would like to suggest fire prone strategy instigate public debate.

First is to establish General Practitioner (GP) service as the entry point to the health care delivery system. There is no need to have a single service nationwide with common funding arrangement as in the case of health care delivery system in U.K. Instead, Sri Lanka could have dual approach where government GPs provide the service in government hospitals and private GP provide the serviced in a private dispensary or hospital. Ultimate objective is for every citizen in the country to have a GP of their choice and a continuing medical record. This system should guarantee the continuity of care and systematic referral for secondary care. For this purpose the government will have to revive the Private Medical Institution Act which is now defunct.

Second strategy is to introduce compulsory protocols for use of High Tech - High Cost technologies in the government system, which would also get a voluntary and indirect guideline for the private sector. After a certain period of voluntary implementation those guide lines can be compulsory in private sector as well under the regulations of private medical institution act itself.

Third strategy is to introduce regulation of health care costs through the same act in the private sector which will apply to the government sector as well when certain services are obtained from the private sector. Then all the private institutions shall be compelled to provide detailed information of pricing to the customer before each and every part of service is delivered.

Fourth strategy is to prohibit acceptance of commission by medical professionals for investigations they order and medications or medical or surgical interventions they prescribe. This should be a serious offence under the medical ordinance as well as the private medical institution act.

Fifth strategy is the bottom line where all health care professionals should be well taught and motivated against purpose full commercialisation of medical practice for undue gains. This should be a integral part of basic medical education as well as in the internship training. Above all it is the moral standards of the individual that makes the difference.

Increasing Militarisation and the stifling of the democratic process

October 21, 2011, 6:34 pm,  The Island


NOTEBOOK OF A NOBODY
by Shanie

"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."

Earlier this month, over fifty courageous academics, from senior professors to junior lecturers and drawn from several of our universities, issued a statement, the opening two paragraphs of which are quoted above. The academics were protesting at the directive to all Universities from the Ministry of Higher Education to outsource their security to a named company, Rakna Arakshaka Lanka Ltd. Rakna was a company floated recently as a commercial venture and its Board of Directors, according to its organisational structure on its website, report directly to the Secretary, Defence. The security personnel employed by it are also reported to be ex-servicemen. It is also reported that many other state institutions have been so directed to employ Rakna. The academics were rightly protesting against this blatant infringement of the academic freedom and independence of the universities.

The Universities Act provides for the Vice Chancellor and the Council of each University to deal with the general administration of the University. The University Grants Commission provides guidance to the Universities on academic matters, student admissions, salaries etc. A healthy convention that has been developed the world over is that universities are autonomous within their limits and the UGC is autonomous within its ‘terms of reference’. Many years ago, a Commission on higher education in India headed by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan stated: ‘We must resist, in the interests of our own democracy, the trend towards the governmental domination of the educational process. Higher education is, undoubtedly, an obligation of the State but State aid is not to be confused with State control over academic policies and practices.... Our Universities should be released from the control of politics.’

The hiring or outsourcing of security services is a matter that should be left to each University as has happened with satisfactory results over the years. The Universities have been following a practice of inviting tenders, evaluating each tender and hiring the most appropriate company to provide the security services according to its needs. By directing the Universities to hire a particular company, bypassing all tender procedures, the Ministry has set a dangerous precedent and opened up avenues of corruption. But a still more pernicious development is the increasing militarisation of civil administration and higher education under the Defence Ministry.

‘Leadership Training’ Programme

The academics in their statement go on to state: "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."

The ‘leadership training’ programme given to all university entrants this year that these academics refer to has not only been resisted by the university community, both teachers and students, but has raised problematic issues in respect of the curriculum adopted. Whoever designed it (apparently the cover of the study booklet has a picture of the Secretary, Defence on it), does not believe that pluralism and a respect for all communities and all religions should be encouraged and promoted among the new university entrants. It is reported that the topics on the module on history and national heritage are, in order: the arrival of the Aryans, foreign invasions, and the development of Sinhalese kingdoms. The curriculum on "National heritage" reportedly focused exclusively on prominent cultural symbols of the majority Sinhala community such as Sigiriya, the Temple of the Tooth and the Aukana Buddha statue with none from other communities. Subjecting new university entrants, who may well become future leaders of this country, a respected civil society is quotes as saying, to a course which focuses exclusively on the majority community, undermines all the official statements on national reconciliation after three decades of civil strife. If this is an officially sanctioned method of national reconciliation what hopes do we have for a peaceful conflict-free future in this country?"

Militarisation of civil administration

The militarization is not confined to brain-washing of university students and having security personnel keep a watchful eye on student, and indeed teacher, union activities. Military personnel are being increasingly used in civil administration and sometimes even to take over policing functions. The military were used in the eviction of the urban poor (one hopes that the government will keep its election promise of not continuing with these evictions, even though they lost the election.) Although it is necessary to resist increasing militarization, it will perhaps be wrong to blame the military personnel for this. They are more probably being used by politicians to serve the politician’s ends. Like the Police, when matters do not go the way the politician wants, they will be made the scapegoats.

The recent turf warfare in Mulleriyawa which resulted in the death of a long-standing SLFPer showed the dangers of playing politics. Each side had different underworld gangs behind them. From all available reports, each side had the backing of a different sets of politicians. The politician who wields greater power will be expected to shield his side, irrespective of who is being arrested by the Police. This is why the Bharatha Premachandra siblings are expressing concern that justice will not be meted out to the killers of their brother. A government spokesperson is already on record as saying that one of the persons named by a witness is not being treated aa suspect. If the investigations into this crime were to be transparent and fair, we should expect the Police investigators and not government spokespersons to let the public know the progress of the investigations, and as to who is being treated as suspects. Pre-empting statements from the police investigators smacks of political interference.

The same goes for the recent incident in Negombo where the residential premises of a ruling party politician was searched by the Police Special Task Force. The search revealed nothing but the STF went there on information they had received and which they felt was credible. There was no indication that they had finished their investigation on the information received. But President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in a mistaken act of solidarity, visited this local politician at his home in Negombo. As the Island editorialist quite rightly stated, that visit was totally inappropriate. It would have stalled any further follow-up the Police may have carried in respect of the information they had received; and would further have demoralized the investigators.

The Police have been at the receiving end of a lot of flak in recent times. And rightly so too! There have been far too many instances of deaths in police custody, of suspects being beaten up and tortured and of innocent people being harassed at the behest of the rich and the powerful. But we have a new IGP. He, and the seniors who wish to restore the professional image of the Police, must be allowed to do so. It is time for the public, the civil society groups in particular, to denounce political interference in law enforcement and to support any genuine attempt at re-building within the Police.

In the oft-quoted words of the late Martin Luther King, ‘we shall have to repent in this generation not so much for the evil deeds of the wicked people, but for the appalling silence of the good people.’