Private Medical College Issue

Malabe Private Medical College

Medical Officer’s Trade Union (GMOA) and Medical
Students’ Union, have requested government to close down South Asia Institute
of Technology and Medicine (SAITM), the Green Campus, first private medical
university in Sri Lanka commonly known as Malabe Private Medical College.


Only Sri Lankan state universities have the monopoly to confer MBBS degrees.
But On September 2011, Higher Education Ministry has issued a Gazette
Notification giving authority to confer M.B.B.S. degrees to Malabe Private
Medical College.

The medical education regulatory body, the Sri Lanka
Medical Council (SLMC), does not recognize the private medical college and not
allowed the students to undergo clinical training in government hospitals. 

2011 September, Doctors of Sri Lanka have decided to
launch an island wide strike against the controversial Private Medical College
but later called it off after a discussion with the Health Minister and he has
agreed to appoint a five member committee to investigate about the issues.

Sri Lanka's former Health Minister Maithripala
Sirisena presented the report of the five-member committee, to the former President
Mahinda Rajapaksa on 22nd March this year.

The Medical College is a branch of a Russian
university and located in Malabe close to capital Colombo. The Malabe Private
Medical College was established in 2009 and students have to study 4 years.

Meanwhile several university students’ unions in Sri
Lanka are to launch joint action against establishing of private medical
college in the country and to pressurize the government to shut down the
private medical college in Malabe and to stop establishing private universities
in the country.