The Sri Lankan government has renewed its commitment towards strengthening free education that is based on quality standards and meets modern world requirements. In an effort to improve standards of medical education and to ensure freedom of education, the government recently introduced the following policy decisions -

Improving standards of medical education

• Minimum qualifications mandatory for pursuing medical education at any university to be legislated.
• All private medical universities registered in Sri Lanka to maintain high academic standards, governed by a Board of Governors and to be listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange.
• Medical students from the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine – SAITM (private medical university) who pass their final examination to undergo clinical training at government hospitals.
• All South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine medical students to face an examination conducted under the supervision of the Sri Lanka Medical Council and the University Grants Commission.
• Suspension of further recruitment of medical students to South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine until government decisions are implemented.
• Government takeover of Dr. Neville Fernando Hospital which was previously owned by the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine in order to provide free healthcare services to the public

Strengthening free education

• Encouraging private sector involvement to increase high quality higher education opportunities within Sri Lanka for students who qualify for university admission but cannot be accommodated in state universities.
• Private higher education institutes to increase number of scholarships provided to eligible students
• Increasing the number of students admitted to existing medical faculties
• Setting up of new medical faculties.

If you wish to obtain further information on the latest developments in the Sri Lankan Higher Education sector, please write to Nishika Hassim - Manager Higher Education and Education Services and cc to siemsouthasia@britishcouncil.org