In the 1980s, the North Colombo Medical College (NCMC) caused a firestorm of controversy when they pushed to set up the first private medical college in Sri Lanka. Its founder, Dr. G M Heennilame, had been advocating for the idea since 1975 but in the 80s, with the support of the late President, J. R. Jayewardena, and the College of General Practitioners of Sri Lanka, he was finally able to make it a reality.
The concept of ‘free education’ has always been a ‘sacred cow’ in the Sri Lankan polity and while it has worked for the betterment of many in the country, at times it has also been used as a political tool to arouse the sentiments of the masses.
The NCMC after just eight years of operation and producing 800 graduates was finally taken over by the State in a bid to quell rising opposition to it and transformed it into the Medical Faculty of the University of Kelaniya. Today what we witnessed at that time pro and against NCMC is repeated in the issue of the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) - the story is the same though the actors have aged.
The crux of the question here is whether it is a priority of the state alone to provide medical education. If not, can private institutes of higher education be allowed to step in? If the answer to the latter is ‘yes’, the question is, under what conditions should they be allowed to function?
Government Medical Officers’ Association Secretary Dr. Naveen De Soysa
It is not a must that the government should privatise medical education. But they need to conduct a survey and study whether we truly have a shortage of doctors and if so, what is the best possible way to provide medical education. The government must have proper policy in this regard.
It would be better for the government to provide medical education as their capacity is much better than the private sector. When many speak of students being deprived of an education, they are talking of students who get three simple passes at their A/Ls. Do we really need them to be doing medicine? For a solution to the district quota problem, we can change the ratio between the district quota to merit quota to 50:50 from the current 60:40. The government can decide whether private medical institutes should come in but minimum standards of them should be maintained.
University Grants Commission Chairman Prof. Mohan de Silva
According to the minister, the government’s policy is to engage in public-private partnerships to guarantee the quality of public and private education. As UGC Chairman, I concentrate only on state higher education.
After having analysed the quality of both state and private higher education for many years, the UGC felt that there is a need for an independent quality assurance mechanism for higher education. The State Minister with Higher Education Minister started a process to initiate quality assurance in higher education. We have developed a comprehensive policy document on this subject after having met with a legal draftsman at least seven times. We will soon submit our findings and policy document to the Cabinet.We are training a set of quality assurance officers, and we have more than 160 so far.But when it comes to obtaining professional degrees, like those in medicine or engineering, Sri Lanka should make sure that the universities, whether public or private, have proper quality assurance accreditation when granting degrees. Furthermore, the universities must have a certificate of compliance from professional organisations dealing with these matters. In future, if new medical faculties come to Sri Lanka, we must provide new systems that determine degree-granting status. An independent committee should recommend the degree granting status to the Higher Education Minister, and the faculties should also acquire a certificate of compliance.
Higher Education and Highways Minister Lakshman Kiriella
As a policy, the United National Party (UNP) accepts private education. We will not destroy the free education system that we commenced. But today you find private universities around the world working hand in hand along with state universities. This is because the state cannot keep opening universities to meet the requirements of every student who qualifies to enter higher education. In Sri Lanka, less than 20 percent enter university, 80 percent is left out - so what is the solution?
Due to the quota system, those with lower marks can enter high education while those with higher marks are left out. If we have an island-wide merit system, it will be different. These people are asking the government to help them. Those who can afford, can go abroad; the rest are stuck here. The students at the SAITM informed me that they are willing to sit for a final licensing exam set by the Medical Council.
I agree, however, the standards of education should be maintained even if private institutes are allowed to function. We will table a bill in Parliament called the Quality Assurance Bill very soon - it’s an effort to guarantee and uplift the quality of university education not only in state universities but also in private higher education institutes. The effort has been supported by the World Bank. The state alone cannot provide higher education; if that was possible, it would have done it long ago. Our annual income is just sufficient to cover debts.
Our election manifesto clearly stated that we will encourage private universities. Now the GMOA also has come to the middle ground and said they are not against private institutes as long as standards are maintained - we also agree with that stand. When it comes to private medical colleges, if investors come, it can be done. They can also link up to government hospitals to provide adequate clinical training and even help improve those hospitals.*
Professor of Urology, Department of Urology and Renal transplantation, National Teaching Hospital, Neville Perera
The state cannot provide medical education for all qualified students. Many students receive the required A/L scores; but state universities can afford only about 1000 leading to a shortage of doctors, and the country is in need of 4,000 more to achieve the recommended doctor to patient ratio.
We are below many developing countries in this measurement. Many talented go to other countries for their medical training; and some of them stay and practise overseas. Having private medical schools will make more people stay and study here. I think private medical universities should have admissions criteria on par with those of state schools. Currently, state medical faculties have higher admissions standards.
Also, an independent institution or group run by the UGC or the Higher Education Ministry should be set up to monitor both public and private medical faculties. Even state medical faculties sometimes do not meet the required standards. We should work on to bring everyone up to the same standards.
Joint Opposition Higher Education Shadow Minister Shehan Semasinghe
Providing medical education is one of the priorities of the government. With any field of education, the government should take the main role and the system should be built around that. If the government cannot cope with the demand, the private sector can be brought in to fill the gap; but they have to be properly standardised.
Just because we are hungry, we are not going to eat any rubbish. Just because we need private education, we cannot allow everyone to set up. We are not against private universities, but they all need to be standardised.
The independent regulating bodies that standardise them should not be disabled. The government cannot override them to establish private universities. If these authorities approve private institutes, then problems will not arise.
It does not matter what the previous government did; this government should not repeat them.
National Dangerous Drug Control Board Chairman Dr. Ravindra Fernando
At present, many private institutions provide higher education in Law, Biomedical Sciences, Business and Management among others. No one protests against them. All political parties have accepted them. I do not see why only the state should provide medical education. Proper standards should be maintained by private institutions when they provide any higher education, including medical education. The Sri Lanka Medical Council should have the authority like in all other countries to monitor medical education.
Department of Medicine Head, University of Kelaniya Prof. Arjuna Silva
The solution is what the Deans have proposed. One way forward is to have a private-government partnership providing fee levying medical education, so that the standards are protected. This will save a lot of money going overseas. The profit can then be used to help improve hostel facilities in state medical institutions. This is a hybrid model.
South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine Founder and Chairman Dr. Neville Fernando
At present, medical education seems the priority of the state. A private medical institute has to obtain degree awarding status by submitting an application to the Higher Education Ministry in this regard, according to the University Act No. 16 of 1978. The Ministry appoints several review committees to evaluate the entire procedure. In our case, we got a Program Review Committee, Institutional Review Committee, and a Subject Review Committee to evaluate our standards before granting us the degree awarding status. Private degree awarding institutes are under the purview of "Specified Authority". In this case, it is the Secretary to the Higher Education Ministry.
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