Dear sir / madam,
A private medical college has been started as a BOI project at Malambe which is approved by university grant commission with reluctance under influence of powerful figures in the government.
The south Asian institute of technology and management has negotiate with a medical faculty in Russia Nizni Novgorod state academy of medicine and plan to sell medical degree at 8 million rupees.
Let us see how this private medical college jeopardizes the free education and free health service. To the ordinary people of this country, only system available to become a doctor is through free education (as it should be). If some are getting a medical degree using their power and wealth rather than educational qualifications, what will happen to the wishes of ordinary brilliant students and free education? How can we justify treating those two groups of students in two different ways? The solution should be providing more funds and creating more vacancies in the universities. Here we emphasize the main areas which will be affected by this problem.
01.Undermining of the quality of medical degree of Sri Lanka.
It is a fact that the quality of medical degree (MBBS) of Sri Lanka stands on par with even with medical degrees of developed western countries. But there is a great uncertainty regarding the quality of the medical degree which is going to be sold for eight million rupees. Annually there are a very small number of students who spend ten years in the medical faculty having completed all other requirements, but have to leave without the medical degree because of failure to satisfy the prescribed examinations. Those students are also included in the cream who has acquired highest marks at the G.C.E. A/L in Bioscience stream. But they do not graduate due to of the high standards of the medical degrees maintained in Sri Lanka. If we consider a person who has paid eight million rupees for the medical degree, but has been unable to pass the final examination with given attempts, will he/she give up his/her money without getting the medical degree? Then how can they (administration of the PMC) certify the standard of the degree they are going to offer, when the money is going to be the first and most important qualification for entrance to the PMC and what will be the place of the educational qualification of the candidate?
02.Undermining the quality of the health service in Sri Lanka.
In comparison with other countries of the zone, Sri Lanka is not in a position of outstanding economic state. But when we consider the quality and effectiveness of health service in Sri Lanka, it is exceptional. In comparison not only the criteria like maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and infant mortality rate (IMR) but also the control of a number of communicable diseases, Sri Lanka is far ahead. There are so many social and cultural aspects contributing to these phenomena, but the quality of health care professionals especially their knowledge, skills and attitudes are remarkable. But low quality doctorsproduced by “upcoming PMC”s may bring this status down in no time.
03.Establishing a new pathway to ruin the free education system of Sri Lanka.
The free education system of Sri Lanka has already been destroyed to a certain level, and introduction of a PMC (now only one, but if it is allowed, how many are on the way?) will accelerate the process of destroying free education. The establishment of PMCs will be unavoidable, which will be a more popular business among business community, who follows unlimited profits irrespective of the influence on the society of their activities, because medicine is the number one degree which can be sold at the highest price. Thus establishing PMCs will be a turning point towards a total privatization of the whole free education system.
04.Danger of weakening of government medical colleges.
We do not have a surplus of well qualified, well experienced lecturers in government medical colleges. On the other hand in some of government medical colleges, particularly situated far away from Colombo (e.g. Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Rajarata) there is a shortage of academic staff both in quality and quantity.
The proposed PMCs will attract the well qualified, experienced lecturers who are now working in government medical colleges by their large scale salaries. The government medical colleges which are unable to compete financially with PMCs will be encountered with a huge burden of losing their qualified academic staff members. This will lead to a reduction of the quality of the degree offered by government medical colleges.
So we emphasize that PMCs are not only necessary but also harmful for our country. We invite you dear sir/madam, to join hands with us to defeat this attempts of a few that will deprive the right of free education of the children and the free health service of Sri Lanka.
Please contribute to our effort to save free education and health service.............
Re-emergence of a private medical college (PMC) threat in Sri Lanka.
The south Asian institute of technology and management has negotiate with a medical faculty in Russia Nizni Novgorod state academy of medicine and plan to sell medical degree at 8 million rupees.
Let us see how this private medical college jeopardizes the free education and free health service. To the ordinary people of this country, only system available to become a doctor is through free education (as it should be). If some are getting a medical degree using their power and wealth rather than educational qualifications, what will happen to the wishes of ordinary brilliant students and free education? How can we justify treating those two groups of students in two different ways? The solution should be providing more funds and creating more vacancies in the universities. Here we emphasize the main areas which will be affected by this problem.
01.Undermining of the quality of medical degree of Sri Lanka.
It is a fact that the quality of medical degree (MBBS) of Sri Lanka stands on par with even with medical degrees of developed western countries. But there is a great uncertainty regarding the quality of the medical degree which is going to be sold for eight million rupees. Annually there are a very small number of students who spend ten years in the medical faculty having completed all other requirements, but have to leave without the medical degree because of failure to satisfy the prescribed examinations. Those students are also included in the cream who has acquired highest marks at the G.C.E. A/L in Bioscience stream. But they do not graduate due to of the high standards of the medical degrees maintained in Sri Lanka. If we consider a person who has paid eight million rupees for the medical degree, but has been unable to pass the final examination with given attempts, will he/she give up his/her money without getting the medical degree? Then how can they (administration of the PMC) certify the standard of the degree they are going to offer, when the money is going to be the first and most important qualification for entrance to the PMC and what will be the place of the educational qualification of the candidate?
02.Undermining the quality of the health service in Sri Lanka.
In comparison with other countries of the zone, Sri Lanka is not in a position of outstanding economic state. But when we consider the quality and effectiveness of health service in Sri Lanka, it is exceptional. In comparison not only the criteria like maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and infant mortality rate (IMR) but also the control of a number of communicable diseases, Sri Lanka is far ahead. There are so many social and cultural aspects contributing to these phenomena, but the quality of health care professionals especially their knowledge, skills and attitudes are remarkable. But low quality doctorsproduced by “upcoming PMC”s may bring this status down in no time.
03.Establishing a new pathway to ruin the free education system of Sri Lanka.
The free education system of Sri Lanka has already been destroyed to a certain level, and introduction of a PMC (now only one, but if it is allowed, how many are on the way?) will accelerate the process of destroying free education. The establishment of PMCs will be unavoidable, which will be a more popular business among business community, who follows unlimited profits irrespective of the influence on the society of their activities, because medicine is the number one degree which can be sold at the highest price. Thus establishing PMCs will be a turning point towards a total privatization of the whole free education system.
04.Danger of weakening of government medical colleges.
We do not have a surplus of well qualified, well experienced lecturers in government medical colleges. On the other hand in some of government medical colleges, particularly situated far away from Colombo (e.g. Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Rajarata) there is a shortage of academic staff both in quality and quantity.
The proposed PMCs will attract the well qualified, experienced lecturers who are now working in government medical colleges by their large scale salaries. The government medical colleges which are unable to compete financially with PMCs will be encountered with a huge burden of losing their qualified academic staff members. This will lead to a reduction of the quality of the degree offered by government medical colleges.
So we emphasize that PMCs are not only necessary but also harmful for our country. We invite you dear sir/madam, to join hands with us to defeat this attempts of a few that will deprive the right of free education of the children and the free health service of Sri Lanka.
Please contribute to our effort to save free education and health service.............
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