Mounting Opposition Against SAITM Solution Totally Rejecting
The Inter-University Students Federation (IUSF) yesterday (30) announced, that they totally reject the Governmental solutions presented in regard to the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) would continue with their struggle until the SAITM is abolished. Explaining that theirs was a fight for free education and free healthcare, the IUSF also declared their support to the fast unto death organized by the parents of the students in State medical faculties, which is scheduled to commence on 6th November. They demand total abolition of SAITM and afterwards vesting it completely with the public by nationalizing it, and subsequently enrolling and recruiting students free of charge. The IUSF suggests the solution to meet the requirement is to expand the State medical faculties and increase the intake.
The Presidential Committee appointed to look into the issues of the SAITM, on Sunday, 29 October recommended the abolition of the medical faculty of the SAITM and proposed to bring the institution under the Ministry of Higher Education and the University Grants Commission as a non-profit entity with a new ownership and management.
In the meantime, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) yesterday (30) announced that the Government
is trying to fool the country through its proposals regarding the medical faculty of the SAITM, It further said, he Government’ s solution is a fake one which seeks to pull wool over the eyes of the people. The new management will also sell the degree just like the previous management did.What the authorities should do is to follow the proposals submitted by the Medical Faculty Deans of State Universities to solve the SAITM problem, the JVP concluded.
The Federation of Faculty of Medicine Teachers Association and the Association of Medical Faculty Lecturers (AMFL) yesterday (30) said that they too reject the Government’s solution to the SAITM issue. Addressing the media in Colombo yesterday (30), the Convener of the AMFL, medical specialist Dr. Manuj Weerasinghe said that the Government’s solution is neither practical nor plausible.
On the other hand, issuing a press release yesterday (30), the SAITM management claimed that the proposals from the Presidential Committee inquiring into the matter, needed to be discussed at length with all the stakeholders in order to ensure that justice is served. Moving forward, the release further added, ”We [the SAITM] hope that the SAITM graduates will be given provisional registration, subject to Court proceedings and the current student’s education will continue without any disruption to their studies”.
