Parents of medical students call for legal recognition

The parents of medical students at the Private Medical Institution, Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) yesterday called on the authorities to give legal recognition to the institution. The former Deputy Director General of Health Services Dr. Terrance De Silva addressing a media conference with other aggrieved parents said that the private medical institution should be accepted and monitored by the authorities to ensure its functioning. “These institutions should  fall in line with government requirements,” he said. Dr. De Silva said the MBBS degree awarded by the institution is affiliated to a world recognized Russian State University. He questioned as to why the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) which recognizes 332 medical schools in 44 countries chose not to give recognition to the medical institution. “The SLMC recognizes universities in Nigeria, Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea and Afghanistan where standards are very low. Why cannot they recognize institutions that are set up in the country?” he questioned. He explained that the institution’s course fees are an estimated Rs. 5.5 million . “Outside the country course fees for such a course vary from Rs.2.5 million to 30 million . The fees for this particular course falls somewhere in-between,” he said. Earlier there was 16% VAT which accounted for an estimated Rs.9 lakhs but said this has now been reduced to 2%, he said. He said parents preferred to educate their children in Sri Lanka instead of sending them abroad for studies and that a large number of students in the country don’t qualify for medical college admittance in Sri Lanka due to lack of vacancies further limiting their chances of studying medicine. “This is an injustice to the children,” he said.

Docs call off strike after talks with Sirisena

September 7, 2011, 10:46 pm

By Dilanthi Jayamanne

Following discussions with Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena the Government Medical Officers’ Association called off their strike scheduled for yesterday morning.

GMOA President Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya, addressing a press conference yesterday, said that the Minister had agreed that the gazette was without value.

The Minister, he said, had agreed to appoint a five-member committee to review the gazette and identify the necessary requirements. The committee is to give its reports in two months time. The Ministry had also agreed to appeal to the Institution to refrain from enrolling students till the committee submitted its report.

Minister Sirisena agreed to take up the Prescribed Standards Bill in Parliament which had been withheld for various reasons.

Padeniya said that the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Medical Council, Prof. Lalitha Mendis, who had also been present at the meeting, had said that the SLMC had not reviewed the Malabe Medical College as it did not have a teaching hospital. The gazette too identifies the requirements of the Malabe PMC, he added.

Although the Minister of Higher Education stresses that he has given authorization to the Malabe PMC under section 25 of the University Act, Section 70 of the same Act states that the SMLC is the competent authority on giving authorization to institutions to award the MBBS degree, Dr. Padeniya added.

GMOA give ultimatum Wednesday, 07 September 2011 14:00 The Government Medical Officers' Association (GMOA) gave an ultimatum to S. B. Dissanayake, Minister of Higher Education to withdraw the gazette notification approving the Malabe Private Medical Faculty and suspend enrolment of students to the Private Medical Faculty with immediate effect. The GMOA further added that if the minister fails to meet these two demands in seven days it will launch all island trade union action. (Sandun A. Jayasekera)

SB defends giving MPMC degree awarding status

September 6, 2011, 9:10 pm

by Dasun Edirisinghe

Despite doctors threatening to strike on Wednesday (07) in protest against the granting of degree awarding status to the Malabe Private Medical College, the Higher Education Ministry yesterday reiterated its commitment to allow private universities operate in the country.

Higher Education Minister S. B. Dissanayake told a media briefing at the University Grants Commission (UGC) yesterday that the Malabe Private Medical College (South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine - SAITM) had been seeking the degree awarding status since 2008, though the UGC gave approval after monitoring it for 2 years and 11 months.

"The SAITM had sent their application seeking approval to award degrees on September 30, 2008," he said adding that before they granted approval, the UGC team, including senior professors, consultant doctors and members from the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) inspected the institute and their programmes.

The minister said that the SAITM fulfilled the UGC’s guidelines and standards before being the degree awarding status was approved.

Dissanayake said that government’s policy was to allow private universities here, but not the way former President J. R. Jayewardena approved some private medical institutions in 1981.

He charged that although the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) was protesting against the SAITM, the sons and daughters of most of doctors were going overseas for higher education every year.

"We ask the GMOA to not to put innocent patients in trouble by launching trade union action," Dissanayake said.

GMOA refuses to accept private medical uni

Tuesday, 06 September 2011 18:24

In the midst of protests by the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) which had refused to accept the legality of the private medical university in Malabe, the Higher Education Minister today vowed that the university will continue to function and that many more private universitiesof the kind will be established in Sri Lanka in the future.

Minister S. B. Dissanayake said the Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM), the first private medical university in Sri Lanka which was established in 2008, is a legally functioning, accredited institution although the GMOA has said that it should not have legal recognition on the basis that the medical college was functioning as a branch of a Russian university and therefore could be legally established in the country.

The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has vowed to continue with a strike tomorrow. “We will definitely stage an all-island strike tomorrow in protest against the authority’s decision to legalise the medical institution,” a GMOA sources said today. The GMOA has also decided to withdraw its membership from the SLMC, if the institution is accepted as legal entity. (Olindhi Jayasundere)

Dodamgolla farm handed over to Peradeniya University Thursday, 01 September 2011 01:06 The Land and Land Development Ministry has after 43 years decided to legally handover the Dodamgolla farm and research institute to the Peradeniya University Agricultural Faculty for research and educational purposes.   At present this institution trains officials in agriculture under the ‘Divineguma’ project and provides knowledge in new agricultural technology to university students and those involved in agriculture. NM Total Views: 35

 

 

Thieves remove laptop from VC’s office Friday, 02 September 2011 00:00 By Krishan Jeewaka Jayaruk Thieves entered the official residence of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ruhuna and took away a lap top worth around Rs.110,000. Vice Chancellor Professor Susirith Mendis lodged a complaint with the Matara police after discovering the loss. The suspects had also eaten chocolates which were in the fridge, the police said. A special team had been deployed into the area to arrest the suspects who were believed to be residents of the area.

* Sri Lanka's Higher Education Ministry to upgrade six local universities to fit world standards
Thu, Sep 1, 2011, 11:07 am SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Sept 01, Colombo: The Higher Education Ministry of Sri Lanka is to upgrade six local universities in order to achieve top ranks in the world university rankings.
The infrastructure, curriculum and foreign student intake in the Colombo, Peradeniya, Moratuwa, Ruhuna, Kelaniya and Sri Jayawardenapura universities are to be upgraded within the next few years.
Higher Education Ministry Secretary, Dr. Sunil Navaratne has said the main objective of the programme is to receive ranks above 1,000 in the world renowned university ranking systems.
Local universities are currently ranked at 3,500-5,000 range in world rankings.
Dr. Navaratne has said that there are several criteria to be fulfilled in order to achieve a rank above 1,000.
The universities must have publications in world class peer-reviewed journals, foreign student intake, and foreign academic teaching. Also the university should produce globally employable graduates, he has noted.
There are reportedly three well known university rankings - Webometrics, QS World University Ranking and Times Higher Education ranking.
According to the Webometrics ranking, Peradeniya University is ranked at 2,220, Colombo at 2,240, Moratuwa at 2,573, Ruhuna at 3,514, Open University at 5,988, Jayawardenapura at 6,382 and Kelaniya at 6,594.

Docs strike tomorrow

Against Pvt. Medical College

September 5, 2011, 9:41 pm


By Dilanthi Jayamanne

Doctors will stage a countrywide strike tomorrow (07) in protest against the gazette notification issued by Higher Education Minister S. B. Dissanayake recognising Malabe Private Medical College as a degree awarding institute.

Assistant Secretary of the Government Medical Officers’ Association Dr. Sankalpa Marasinghe said yesterday that the Minister has legalised the Malabe PMC by issuing the Extraordinary Gazette Notification 1721-19 of Aug. 30, 2011.

He said It has been recognised as an institution which awards MBBS degrees similar to those issued by government medical faculties. The government has also provided six hundred million rupees to the Malabe PMC to build a teaching hospital.

He said that this was proof that it did not have a teaching hospital of its own, which is one of the GMOA’s bones of contention.

Minister Dissanayake had also violated section 70 of the University Act. The Minister has to appoint a special panel to assess whether a private medical institution was suitable to be awarded such a status. However information has it that three of the members of a seven-member panel had expressed their disapproval and made their recommendations against such a step, Dr. Marasinghe said.

He said that Castle Street Hospital for Women, De Soyza Maternity Home, Lady

Ridgeway Children’s Hospital and the Maharagama Cancer Institute would be exempted from the strike. They will also attend to all emergencies. However routine work would be disrupted.

‘Invaluable opportunity to gain admission as professional graduate chemists’

August 14, 2011, 10:04 pm

The College of Chemical Sciences, which is the educational arm of the Institute of Chemistry, Ceylon, commences on January 7th next year, a revised Graduateship Programme that will lead, after four years, to the award of the Graduateship of the Institute of Chemistry in 2015. Such Graduateship Programmes have been conducted for 33 years since 1979 and are equivalent to that of a Special Degree Programme in Chemistry conducted by a recognised University.

Advanced Registration is now in progress and students who possess three Advanced Level passes OR are hopeful of obtaining same at the examination that is now being held should contact the Institute Headquarters at Adamantane House, 341/22, Kotte Road, Welikada, Rajagiriya (phone 2861653/2861231) and obtain application forms free of charge as well as and other documents and information. They could also download same from the web site www.jchemc.com and attend an Orientation Session that is being held at 10 15 am on Saturday August 27tb at the said address.

Professor J N Oleap Fernando, the Honorary Rector of the College states in a News release that successful completion of the programme enables admission as professional Graduate Chemists, who are recognised both in Sri Lanka and abroad, for postgraduate studies leading to Doctoral Degrees, as well as for recruitment as Chemists and for numerous other positions that require Honours degrees in Chemistry. More that half of the 734 Graduate Chemists who have passed out over the past three decades have obtained post-graduate degrees from Universities throughout the world and this includes about 70 who have obtained their PhD degrees.

The news release also states that while scholarships, prizes and bursaries are continuously available during the programme for meritorious and needy students, the amount otherwise payable for the four year Programme amounts to only about Rs 250,000 which works out to about Rs 5,250 per month for those who register before the advanced registration deadline of 15th September. Many students spend much more in following tuition classes to supplement their Advanced Level studies. Prospective students are also assured that they would complete the entire programme with no delays whatsoever by October 2015. Prospective students and their parents are advised to use this wonderful and unique opportunity to become Graduate Chemists by following a time tested and very well recognised professional programme in Chemistry that is offered by the largest provider of such chemists in the shortest possible time and at the least possible cost in Sri Lanka.

(Press release)