After weeks of escalating opposition, Sri Lanka's higher education minister has temporarily withdrawn a proposed Private University Bill. But he is hoping to present a quality assurance bill to parliament related to private higher education providers. Meanwhile, lecturers have joined students in protesting.
Major student unrest at Sri Lankan universities over government plans to allow the setting up of private institutions looks set to escalate, with students stepping up demonstrations last week and more campaigns organised by student groups in the coming days. Dozens of students have been arrested and some 200 suspended from their institutions. Unrest has been growing over the last two months, spreading to virtually all of the country's 25 universities by the end of October and stoked further by Education Minister SB Dissanayake's hardline stance against protesting students. Unrest has continued at six main universities with exams disrupted, and other activities culminating in the storming of the education ministry in Colombo and alleged attacks on the minister's official car.
Doctors, lecturers, students, trade unions and other groups in Sri Lanka have called on the government to close down the country’s first private medical university and to stop the establishment of other private medical institutions – a move that could have implications for international providers planning to set up branch campuses. The call came in the wake of a debate in Sri Lanka’s parliament last weekend on the South Asia Institute of Technology and Medicine, commonly known as Malabe Private Medical College. The medical college is a branch of a Russian university and is located in Malabe, close to the country's largest city, Colombo. The college will confer Nizhny Novgorod State Medical Academy degrees.
Doctors in Sri Lanka have threatened strike action in an escalating row over government recognition of the country's first private medical college near Colombo, established as a branch of a Russian university. The action could have repercussions for other private colleges planning to set up in the country, as talks are ongoing with institutions in China and India.
Private medical college and private medical education have once again become bitter words generating an awful taste, as it was merely 35 years ago when I was a medical student at the Colombo Medical Faculty. Answers to the questions raised today as to private medical education can be found if the events that unfolded 35 years ago are analysed. The North Colombo Medical College (NCMC) aka Private Medical College (original PMC) which was subsequently nationalised and renamed the Faculty of Medicine, Kelaniya University was started by a group of wealthy, influential private practitioners who controlled the College of General Practitioners in the 80’s. They were disillusioned by the district-based admission criteria introduced by the Bandaranaike Government which effectively excluded their children and the children of the Colombo’s wealthy from the state run medical schools....
The President has decided to appoint a committee of experts to consult on issues surrounding private medical colleges. President Maithripala Sirisena will consider all the recommendations made by this committee of experts, when solving the private medical college issue. The announcement was made following a special discussion that took place between the Government Medical Officers Association and the Sri Lanka Dental Association at the President’s Official residence on Saturday morning. Representatives of the GMOA had made extensive presentations to the President on the issues surrounding SAITM. The Government Medical Officers Association and the Sri Lanka Dental Association also presented two sets of proposals to the president, to be taken into consideration when solving the matter. The president who considered views and opinions expressed from both parties, had noted that the proposals and recommendations made by experts from all other spheres will also be taken in to consideration when solving this issue. All recommendations and proposals would be directed to the expert committee appointed by the President and the president would make a final decision, based on the recommendations reached by the committee. Heads of the GMOA Dr. Anurudhdha Padeniua and Head of the Sri Lanka Dental Association Dr. Ananda Rathnayake led their delegations to this meeting with the President. The GMOA called on the President to issue a gazette which secured the minimum standards required for such a programme. The Government Medical Officers Association convening a media briefing today, following their meeting with the President,the GMOA said that the President took in to account the requests and said that the opinions of all parties is required.