Govt. outlines solutions to SAITM issue

The Ministry of Higher Education & Highways has outlined the Government’s position regarding the privately run South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) in Malabe.

A statement signed by Acting Secretary to the Ministry, Jayanthi Wijethunga, noted that the Government had taken the following decisions on the SAITM issue subject to the judgment of the Court of Appeal and the subsequent appeal to the Supreme Court, as sought by the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC). 

Accordingly, SAITM students who have already passed the final MBBS examination will be given a further period of clinical training in Surgery, Medicine, Gynecology, Obstetrics, Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the Homagama and Avissawella Hospitals. This training will be one month in duration for each subject. 

Subsequent to this training, candidates will undergo a mandatory examination conducted for granting provisional registration under the joint supervision of the SLMC and the University Grants Commission (UGC). 

The Ministry of Health will gazette the minimum standards for medical education in Sri Lanka submitted by the SLMC with the approval of the Attorney General.  

The Ministry of Health will initiate proceedings to bring the Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital under the Ministry of Health and will continue to run as a Teaching Hospital.