South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine Chairman Dr. Neville Fernando, while praising the recent decision of the Court of Appeal in upholding the legality of SAITM medical degrees, urged authorities to respect and uphold the law.
‘We laud the recent landmark decision of the Court of Appeal (CR/WRIT/187/2016), on the threshold of the country’s Independence Day celebrations, allowing SAITM MBBS graduates the right of provisional registration,’ the Chairman wrote in his statement.
‘SAITM has come a long way on its journey of providing higher education to the youth of this country: It was recognized as a Degree Awarding Institute by an order published in Gazette Extraordinary No. 1721/19 dated 30/11/2011 and No. 1829/36 dated 26/09/2013, in terms of Section 25A of the Universities Act of 1978, and tabled in Parliament, to award the degree Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS).’
‘The journey has been filled with obstacles from the inception. I signed an MOU with the Western Provincial Council to provide clinical training at the Avissawella and Homagama Hospitals for the medical students of SAITM for which SAITM was willing to allocate funds to improve these hospitals.’
‘However, the GMOA protested and we were unable to implement the MOU. I was not deterred by these obstacles, placed before SAITM by the GMOA. I built a hospital spending Rs. 2 billion to provide clinical training for my students. However, there were some training components that were available only in a government hospital, which the students of SAITM requested the Ministry of Health to provide them. Although the Hon. Minister of Health agreed in Courts to provide such training, this training did not materialize due to undue pressure from trade unions. The students had no option but to go to Courts against the Minister charging him for contempt of Court. The students were successful, when the Minister of Health agreed in Courts to provide access to Government hospitals in January 2016.’
‘The first batch of students passed out in May 2016 and applied for provisional registration from the SLMC to undergo internship training. The SLMC refused to accept their application. This led to another legal battle with the SLMC where a graduate from SAITM challenged the SLMC in court of appeal. Justice Vijith Malalgoda (PC) and S. Thurairajah (PC) of the Court of Appeal, in the landmark decision made on January 31, 2017 directed that provisional registration be allowed for SAITM MBBS graduates,’ he said.
‘SAITM has always trusted the legal system of Sri Lanka and will take all necessary measures to ensure that the directives of the Court are upheld and that our students are treated fairly and given equal opportunity to practice as doctors in Sri Lanka,’ the Chairman vowed.
