Stop further admittance of students to SAITM - Champika

Minister of Megapolis and Western Development Patali Champika Ranawaka said action should be taken to stop further admittance of students to SAITM until the Government comes up with a solution to the issue. He was speaking at the Parliamentary Debate on "Issues pertaining to the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) in Malabe."

At the outset of the speech, the Minister stressed that his views were not those of the Government but those of his party the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU). He said it was his view that no educational institute should function strictly on a 'for profit' basis. 

While action should be taken to stop admittance of further students to SAITM, action must also be taken to ensure justice is done to the over 1000 students who are already enrolled in SAITM. "I am confident that the vast majority of the students enrolled at SAITM have the necessary skills to qualify as doctors and they must be given the opportunity to be qualified. Likewise, if there are students who aren't suitable, their fees should be reimbursed." 

While the Government spends Rs.2.5 million for every graduate from a Government Medical Faculty, he noted that a student at SAITM pays Rs.12 million. As such, SAITM is earning a profit of Rs.9.5 million from every student, he claimed. 

The Minister also accused Government medical officer trade unions of trying to deliberately keep numbers of doctors in the country at a low level and said qualified students should be allowed to study medicine from fee levying institutes in order to break this monopoly. 

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