An open appeal to The University Grants Commission (Ugc) and the Education Ministry
View(s):An appeal to Grant Entrance to a State Medical Faculty
We are students from A/L 2019 who sat the exam under the biology stream (old syllabus). A curriculum change occurred 2 years back hence there were students from 2 syllabuses sitting the exam in 2019. Those sitting for the first time were new syllabus students and those sitting for the second and third time were old syllabus students. We were considered as two distinct student populations and the selections for universities from these two student populations was done by a previously approved method.
Unfortunately students of the old syllabus faced severe drawbacks due to a situation beyond anyone’s control. These are the students who sat for the exam as their 2nd or their 3rd attempts. The students who sat for the 3rd attempt cannot sit again as only 3 attempts are allowed. The students who sat for the 2nd attempt are not confident about a 3rd attempt as they have no support classes conducted under the old syllabus.
We are well aware and thankful that His Excellency increased the student intake to Universities by over 10,000 students and thereby there was an increase of 369 students to the Medical Faculties. Yet a small group of us missed entrance to a state medical faculty although all of us have excellent results. Two of us have ‘A’ grades for all three subjects (AAA) and 301 students have ‘A’ grades for two subjects and a B’ grade for the third subject(AAB) but have higher marks, hence above the island rank of the last student of the country with AAA.
We have got the best possible marks yet we are left out. Hence we are the most unfortunate students falling into a unique group for the following reasons;
a. Most of us are from the Colombo district while the rest are from a few other popular districts.
b. These are drainage districts where students of our caliber seek ‘better’ education after succeeding in the Grade 5 Scholarship.
c. We are ‘left out’ and are not selected to any state medical faculty in the country simply because we are from these districts where all scholars congregate and the competition is unbearable
d. We are the students who left our parents in our tender years not knowing that our friends whom we left in our villages will enter a Medical faculty with much less marks (much lower island ranks) than what we have.
e. Some of us who could not do so well in the Grade 5 scholarship did not lose our courage. We did our O/Ls in the best possible manner and entered schools in these ‘advantageous’ districts only to fall into the same plight.
f. We fell into an year where the A/L was held under two syllabuses making the mental trauma worse.
There are past incidences where students like us were left out for various reasons and the authorities took steps to take in special intakes;
2005: The medical faculty of the Rajarata University was opened to take a special intake of 170 students to overcome a confusion with the Chemistry paper. It should be particularly noted that this was at the height of the war, yet the President at that time His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa graciously approved this yeoman deed.
2011: A situation similar to the current situation occurred where students under 2 syllabuses sat the exam. There were similar set of ‘left out’ students with AAA and AAB. The President at that time His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa offered all of them state scholarships to study medicine at SAITM. These students are now studying at the Kotelawala Defence University (KDU).
Similar to us, among the new syllabus students there are students who missed enrolment to a medical faculty (four with ‘A’ grades for all three subjects (AAA) and 103 students with ‘A’ grades for two subjects and a B’ grade for the third subject(AAB) but having higher marks, hence above the island rank of the last student of the country with AAA).
Therefore this humble and innocent open appeal is to you. We do not have any other pathway to study medicine unlike the other courses of study. Neither will our parents want us to leave the country with this terrible pandemic going on.
There are only 104 of us from both syllabuses. Please give us a chance to get enrolled to a medical faculty to fulfil our lifelong dream.
Students/A/L 2019/ Biology/ Old Syllabus