Cabinet has decided to appoint a committee to look into the awarding of honorary doctorates and other academic titles by private educational institutions.
The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting last week when Minister D. M. Jayaratna raised the matter, suggesting that honorary titles were being given out indiscriminately, and that the titles had lost their value by being awarded to undeserving persons. Several other ministers agreed with Minister Jayaratna, and it was decided that a study committee of ministerial officials be appointed to look into the matter and make recommendations.
The committee will comprise the secretaries of five ministries, steered by the Minister of Education.
A large number of private educational institutions have come up in recent years, and some of these institutions have been awarding honorary titles without any kind of government endorsement or approval.
Meanwhile, the Institute of Alternative Medicine, which awarded Minister Mervyn Silva a doctorate in 2003, defended its decision to bestow the title, saying it was given in recognition of Mr. Silva’s contribution to social service and his own rise in public life, despite coming from an underprivileged background. Minister Silva’s doctorate was awarded by the institute’s then president, the late Dr. Anton Jayasuriya.“He [Minister Silva] started out as a nobody,” said Dr. Geetanjana Mendis, who serves on the faculty of the Institute of Alternative Medicine. “He rose from being a town councillor to being a Provincial Council member, and then a Provincial Council minister, and then a Member of Parliament. He has also done a lot of work for the people.”
Dr. Mendis dismissed allegations that the institute “sold” doctorate titles. “We don’t charge a cent for awarding a doctorate,” he said. “We have a panel of five governors who decide on a candidate’s suitability.”
Others who have received honorary doctorates from the Institute of Alternative Medicine are the former chairman of Lake House, Janadasa Peiris, in recognition of his long years of service to the media, and Mrs. Sicile Kotalawala of Ceylinco Homes International. | 
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