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Harsha’s SAITM Committee proposes non-state sector medical education
View(s):Any solution proposed to resolve the current issues related to the South Asia Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) must be in accordance with the Government’s commitment to enable some level of non-state higher education, including in the medical sector, and must not be a financial burden on the state, a five member Presidential Committee said in its report.
“The solution must be equitable to all stakeholders. It must be transparently implementable and monitored independently. It must be financially viable at the earliest and sustainable in the long term,” it said. The report was handed over to President Maithripala Sirisena on Friday.
The Committee headed by Deputy Minister Harsha de Silva also recommended that to trigger the proposed solution and to end the boycott of medical students of state-universities, as an immediate step, the Secretary to the Ministry of Higher Education should discuss with the Attorney General to determine an appropriate legally binding mechanism. This would be to inform SAITM to suspend admission of new students until a proposed restructuring is complete, and fresh approvals are granted for the degree programme in terms of legally empowered minimum standards.
“This phase is to be time bound so that any mala fide delays could be avoided and investors are able to complete the restructuring exercise. This action is expected to build confidence among all stakeholders the genuine desire of the Government to implement the proposed recommendations, which will be equitable to all,” it said.
However, the Committee said this report should not have any binding impact on the students who have already passed out with MBBS degrees from SAITM. The solution for them to obtain provisional registration from SLMC is beyond the scope of this report.
The Committee also made recommendations on ownership and management of SAITM, establishing legally empowered Minimum Standards for medical education and training and a sustainable solution for accreditation and quality assurance in medical education.
Here are extracts from the report:
Matters related to ownership and management of SAITM
1. Abolish the current shareholding and management structure of SAITM; i.e., the for-profit entity owned and controlled by Dr Neville Fernando and family.
2. In its place, create a new entity that is not-for-profit with a broad-based ownership structure. The best option will be to collaborate with one or more already established educational institutions along with some amount of public participation. It may take the form of a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP). This entity should conform to the Minimum Standards (to be introduced) and other quality control measures with improved governance over a specified period of time.
Matters related to establishing legally empowered Minimum Standards for medical education and training
1. Ministry of Health to gazette Minimum Standards for medical education and training.
Such to be based on the draft submitted by SLMC upon which views of relevant stakeholders (the Ministry of Higher Education, the Ministry of Health and the UGC) have been already obtained and resubmitted to SLMC for their observations. Once such comments are obtained, finalise the draft, after further clarification by SLMC and other stakeholders if necessary and upon obtaining clearance from the Legal Draftsman and the Attorney General. The entire process must be completed by November 30, 2017, at the latest.
• Matters related to a sustainable solution for accreditation and quality assurance in medical education
1. Expedite the establishment of the proposed Independent Quality Assurance and Accreditation Authority (IQAAA). A draft IQAAA Bill is currently at an advanced stage of drafting. Unfortunately, it had not been shared with the SLMC nor with any other statutory professional body for discussion towards arriving at a strong piece of legislation with overall buy-in. The Committee directed that the draft IQAAA Bill be shared with the SLMC immediately.
2. This envisaged Authority will take over the powers currently with the UGC and the Ministry of Higher Education in the determination of quality assurance and accreditation of all degrees (state and non-state) including those that require professional recognition to practice.
3. For medical degree programmes, the SLMC will be the professional or statutory body, which will be consulted and the SLMC shall work in collaboration with IQAAA. The evaluation of medical degree programmes for accreditation will be conducted jointly by the IQAAA and the SLMC using the legally empowered Minimum Standards and in accordance with the provisions of the IQAAA Act.