Admission to the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) and the awarding of degrees at the institution will be halted until the government gazettes the terms and conditions relating to the private medical college, the Presidential Secretariat said.

President’s Secretary P.B. Abeykoon, in a directive issued on Sunday, said the government would gazette all the requirements including the minimum standards applicable to private medical institutions in the country.

The statement said further, the government would seek the Attorney General’s advice on the government’s stance on the university to the Supreme Court. It said further it intends to continue on the process of transforming the university into a public-private partnership.

It further said the curriculum followed by current students would be restructured in line with a method accepted by the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) and that a mechanism would be implemented to have the students that have already completed their degree registered with the SLMC.