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Higher Ed. Minister seeks SLMA nod for revised gazette for private degrees
View(s):The Higher Education Ministry has sought the observations of the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) before submitting to the Legal Draftsman’s Dept, revisions to the controversial gazette notification allowing private institutions to award Degrees without proper safeguards.
The proposed gazette would make it compulsory for such private Degree-awarding institutions to seek compliance certification from the relevant professional bodies.
Following discussions with SLMA President Dr Palitha Abeykoon, Higher Education Ministry Secretary Dr Sunil Jayantha Navaratne this week requested the SLMA’s observations, after changing the wording in the controversial gazette.
The questionable gazette under the Universities Act, No. 16 of 1978 – Rule 31 under section 137, says that, “all Non-State Institutes recognized as Degree-awarding Institutes in pursuance to the reports made to the Minister by the Specified Authority, under Section 70 C of the Act, and which offer study programmes leading to Degrees in Medicine, Engineering, Architecture and other similar professional Degrees may seek compliance certificates from the respective professional bodies”.
This was an amendment to an earlier gazette which provided for Degrees to be awarded with the change from “shall obtain” to “may seek”.
The Higher Education Ministry now hopes to revert to “shall obtain” in the new Rule 31 and initiate action with the Legal Draftsman’s Dept to publish it in the government gazette.
When the controversial gazette was published on January 31, there were strong protests from the Medical and other professions, which resulted in President Mahinda Rajapaksa ordering the Higher Education Secretary to reverse the notification.
However, when a new gazette rescinding the January 31 gazette was not issued, SLMA’s Dr Abeykoon, in a letter to the President dated February 26, requested that the President’s instructions should be followed through.
Medical and other affected professions raised serious concerns that this gazette ruling would result in a drop in the level of Medical and Engineering education, among other disciplines, and invariably lead to deteriorating standards in the level of expertise of those passing out.
(KH)