28 March, 2024

Blog

My SAITM Story

By Chamalka Rathnayake

Chamalka Rathnayake

This is not to hurt anyone’s feelings but just to share my side of the story. Thought it’s the right time to open up. Hope you’ll spare few minutes to read 🙂

Having done A/L’s for the second time in 2012 from Pushpadana Girls’ College Kandy, I got A (Physics), B, B with a Z score of 1.7868 and with the district rank 87. The cutoff mark being 1.86 (new syllabus) for medicine in Kandy district, shattered my childhood dream of getting into a government medical faculty.

I was thinking,

1. Should I give up on medicine

2. Should I do the exam again

3. Should I chose private education

1 – Should i give up?

Being a child from a middle class family whose parents are doctors, trust me our lives were not a bed of roses. I’ve seen the darkest years of my parents career. All the struggles they went through to raise 3 kids despite their stressful busy schedule is unbelievable. Seeing all this and still wanting to do medicine was not because they were doctors or for the sake of money. But how they enjoyed watching their patients genuine smile made me wonder how sacred is this profession and the struggle is worth it. So why giving up here?

2 – Do the exam again?

Having ended up in the margin of the cutoff hit me deep into the core. It was really hard to get over. The fear of not getting selected again drew me back from trying again. My utmost gratitude to all my friends who tried again and fulfilled their goals. Such courage should be admired.

3 – Private education?

This left me with the final option, which was the private education. With my sister studying abroad, I would have easily chosen a foreign medical faculty. But seeing my mother crying each and every time akki’s leaving the country and all the suffering they are going through thinking of her day and night was hard to bear up. So SAITM was the ultimate best choice.

Despite the economic burden rising head over, for letting me decide what I want, I would never ever be able to finish paying back the gratitude for my parents. As I stepped into SAITM on March 2013, I promised myself not to let them down again, and here I am at the end of 4th year successfully completing the exams and giving them all the happiness they deserve.

I strongly believe that you cannot decide the future of a child by just the A/L results. Dedication, hardwork and patience are the pillars of success and can take them anywhere in the world as long as they love what they are doing.

The fact that I couldn’t enter a government medical faculty was not because I was a failure, but because I couldn’t get into the district quota, while there were plenty of students who did A/L’s from various other districts, with z score values less than mine entered university while I was left behind. It’s not just me. There are 1000s out there who faced this situation and who WILL face this in near future too.

Establishing private universities is not to take over ‘free education’ but to increase the chances of students entering government universities and to make the stressful A/L examination less competitive.

This is my side of the story.

Thank you for bearing up with me.

Hope it’s worth reading till the end.

#MySAITMStory #මගේSAITMකතාව

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Latest comments

  • 7
    9

    another one…

    I have read most of the SAITM story…

    appreciate the sacrifice some parents are doing to educate their children
    and some are loaded to afford a private uni

    Compare this to The Tamil kids in the war torn area.
    They are going through tremendous hardship to get basic state education.
    Orphan kids
    Kids with parents without income
    kids who have to he help their parents in the paddy fields and fishing boats during their spare time
    Girls who have to walk through army check points fear of sexual molestation and sexual attack

    I wish some one could write about theses kids

    And as I said in another blog the SAITM story is getting stale

    • 14
      0

      There are similar children in the south who go through immense hardship as well.
      For some everything is looked at via ethnic tinted glasses or caste/religious/class tinted. Most of the problems in the country is because of this mentality with many not looking at what is good for the whole country.

      • 4
        11

        John point taken and I agree.
        the difference is in the North they are war traumatised as well unlike in the South and they are growing up at the gun point of the army

        • 8
          3

          Raj
          Point not taken and disagree!
          Are you saying that when suicide murdering in public places were going on, killing over 100,000 innocent children and women for over 30 years, nobody was traumatized???
          Give me a break terror supporter.

          • 1
            7

            you walk around Colombo and all the touristy places in the south….and show me trauma

            • 5
              1

              rajash
              So you are still denying that trauma did not happen to Sinhalese?? It only happens to Tamils?? Seeing torn body parts scattered all over the street by victimized children, parents, spouses, siblings are happy in touristy places in the south? what logic is that? Only a terrorist has that kind of mind set!

            • 3
              1

              I bet you had been a staunch LTTE backer who is not willing to change even today.

    • 1
      1

      That is why they have a very low Z score cut off mark

  • 17
    1

    It is expensive to train a doctor. If private medical colleges are not there, then the cost will be borne by taxpayers. Therefore, for poor countries like Sri Lanka, it is not such a bad thing if medical education is privatized. However, adequate steps should be taken to ensure the quality of these medical schools is in line with established standards. Independent experts should regularly carry out quality control checks. Most importantly, the board exams for all medical schools – public or private – should be the same. If they are not the same, then you will have graduates with different levels of proficiency.

    • 5
      2

      @ Lester, according to your opinion poor brainy children can’t be a doctors because country needs to save tax payers money.

      you don’t have to worry about board exam for state universities, no educational lagging for state universities.

      Act 16 is imposed to test the level of proficiency who are not from state universities.

      • 4
        0

        I am not against free education. The main thing to realize is that even with free education, there is a shortage of medical professionals. Tax money is used to fund healthcare, but the taxpayer is not getting a proper return. You can use the private sector to fill this gap. What is important is accountability If the SLMC does not think SAITM meets the criteria, then that is final.

        • 4
          0

          Lester

          ” If the SLMC does not think SAITM meets the criteria, then that is final. “

          Sorry that is NOT final.
          If SLMC can recognize KDU without any facilities then SAITM will rightfully fight back. This is what anybody with a once of self respect will do.

          SLMC is not Prof Carlo Fonseka’s private property. Carlo has done this to win Gotapaya’s favour when he was in power. and did not have the courage or conviction to do the right thing by disapproving KDU. Now he has to face the music and any Tom Dick and Harry can start a medical faculty with just with facilities of KDU and courts have to agree and it becomes legal.

          What is source of the goose is source for the gander as well. I think Carlo should resign before he brings more disrepute to the SLMC.

          • 3
            1

            You would have to prove that someone who passed out of KDU and then undertook employment in a hospital was incompetent. As far as I know, that is not the case. The danger with lax oversight is that incompetent doctors pose a very real threat to the public safety. That is why SLMC, not the Supreme Court or UGC, should have the last word on this. I am in favor of SAITM, as long as SLMC gives approval.

            • 2
              0

              Lester

              “You would have to prove that someone who passed out of KDU and then undertook employment in a hospital was incompetent.”

              You have to prove the same to SAITM also .
              You have proved my point! So as far as you know KDU as not proved any incompetent doctors despite its lack of facilities without any hospital, and SAITM has a hospital mind you. and so if you can be trained to be competent the students of KDU too can do the same and it proves beyond any reasonable doubt that SAITM trained students are not going to be incompetent when they too pass out. YOU JUST HAVE PROVED MY POINT.

              IF KDU can do why not SAITM. IF KDU can do without any hospital facilities why can’t SAITM do with their 1001 bed hospital! You have proved it for me!

              It proves just one thing you are having a hidden hatred and jealousy towards SAITM and that is all. Your statement should be preserved to use it for SAITM .

              Thank you for your valuable information which SAITM can use.

              Thank you!

              • 2
                1

                What rubbish are you writing here. KDU provides first-hand clinical experience to all students:

                “From the 4th semester onwards, clinical training is carried out at hospitals including the Military Hospital Narahenpita, National Hospital of Sri Lanka, Sri Jayawardhenapura General Hospital and Teaching Hospital Karapitiya. In the final year, professorial appointments are at Teaching hospital Karapitiya and Sri Jayawardhenapura General Hospital.”

                Look at the staff of KDU: http://www.kdu.ac.lk/faculty-of-medicine/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=96&Itemid=176.

                All top-notch academic professionals, many with degrees from abroad. KDU has excellent facilities and first-rate academic staff. That is why SLMC gave their approval. Something is missing in the SAITM curriculum. I am not a medical professional, so I will defer to the judgement of SLMC in this regard.

                • 1
                  0

                  Lester

                  SAITM too has excellent facilities and they have a 1001 bed hospital. We did ask for a supportive Government hospital and it was agreed up on but it was GMOA which sabotaged it. You too should prove SAITM graduates are inferior and am sure you will not succeed as they are filled with very cleaver students but unfairly denied fair treatment.

                  There are two categories at SAITM:
                  1. Students who are from International schools as as such are denied state universities and they have got excellent London AL results including 3A’s

                  2. Those who sat Sri Lankan ALs got very goods results and aggregate and in the all island merit list came within the number of vacancies to enter state medical faculty but did not get in due to the district quota system when their due place was snatched unfairly by those who got very poor results and aggregate on lame excuse they are from rural areas.

                  The average in the state medical faculty are of poor quality but I agree there is a small proportion who are excellent and these are the few who in spite of all the odds entered the medical faculty from competitive districts having extremely good results.

                  The average in the SAITM is better than state medical faculty as everyone has obtained very good results but were unable to enter state medical faculty for the reasons I tabled above.

                  I know of many who got in to State medical faculty through this dubious system abusing the system when Colombo kids got their name registered in the rural schools but hardly attended the school remained in Colombo and got help following classes from good teachers and obtaining poor results managed to get a place in the state medical faculty. There are even rural kids supposedly attending the rural schools hardly attended school came to Colombo and followed classes and with their basic results found places in the state medical faculty denying many who obtained better results and aggregate. These are the present medical students coming out on the streets protesting against the very students they denied entry now ensuring no future to them.

                  • 0
                    0

                    “You too should prove SAITM graduates are inferior and am sure you will not succeed”

                    Medicine is competitive everywhere. UK, USA, Singapore, etc. It is not only in Sri Lanka that qualified applicants are turned away. The solution is not to build a SAITM institution and accept anyone with a big wallet and minimum qualifications. Regulation is very important. Only a group like SLMC can do the job.

          • 0
            1

            Every one is mislead about KDU, KDU is different. It is there to appoint doctors for the forces. Otherwise forces are not enough doctors. From the beginning students in KDU know that they are trained to serve at the forces.Why didn’t SAITUM students join KDU?
            their fitness,secure war secrets, mentality which are are bring up together with medical education. KDU has to be there. it is a good work.The main problem is you all are talking like parrots with out use your brains.

        • 0
          0

          @lester,
          There are no shortage of medical professionals in this country. The problem is all of them are concentrated to cities.

          According to your argument only medical education is used tax payers money. In sri lanka Tax money is used to trained all sectors, ministers, MP, they all use our tax money. How do they get facilities, expensive cars, accommodation, their security, salaries? don’t you think that aspect?

          • 1
            0

            kasun:

            There is a shortage at the government hospitals. You should not have to wait 2 hours to see the doctor after making an appointment. That is after waiting 3 or 4 weeks to get the space. Have you been to the government hospital? There are 50 people in the waiting room sometimes.

        • 2
          0

          SLMC without giving guidelines for improvement and then monitoring that it has been done until it is fit, is the final voice. SLMC today is dictatorship said 2 years ago that “”SAITM IS NOT FIT- PERIOD” What type of Council is that and where is the regulation of that mythical standard. Is that what we mean by accountability and responsibility, like the street undergrads who hold no social responsibility and accountability for traffic jams delaying hard working population returning home at the end of their day to their families unlike the street loners comforted by street tents.

      • 2
        0

        Lasitha,

        Free education should ONLY be given to people who cannot afford. There are too many people who CAN afford – they should be made to pay instead of tax-payers footing the bill.

        It is unfair for tax-payers and also unfair for the poor kids who get a water-down education.

        Let people who can afford education pay for it, including private med school.

        Most industrialised countries have both – private and public schools.

        • 1
          0

          Goraka:

          “Free education should ONLY be given to people who cannot afford.”

          The primary difference between free and private education is the medium of instruction. Those in rural areas who are only taught in Sinhalese or Tamil are at a great disadvantage for higher studies. For example, if these rural students wished to pursue post-graduate education (MSc or PhD) they would need to review literature (academic journals) which are mainly in English. The solution is simple: to require all public education to be in the English medium, similar to the Singapore model. This is the first and most essential step in removing disparities between rural and urban students.

  • 7
    0

    Dear Ms. Chamalka Rathnayake

    RE:My SAITM Story

    “The fact that I couldn’t enter a government medical faculty was not because I was a failure, but because I couldn’t get into the district quota, while there were plenty of students who did A/L’s from various other districts, with z score values less than mine entered university while I was left behind. It’s not just me. There are 1000’s out there who faced this situation and who WILL face this in near future too.”

    Thanks for your story. We all have empathy for you and your fellow students, who are being subjected to Hegemony and Cast-ism abuse because of GMOA , SLMC looking for their own self-interest, and not that of the populace and the country.

    Yes. There are perhaps thousands who are qualified to pursue medicine in a State Medical School, but cannot accommodate.

    Would 3 more Govt Medical schools to accommodate 300 more left out, solve the problem? What about those who were left out especially by the district quota system? Should they be given preference for these extra spaces?

    The system is not perfect, but the private sector shoukd be given an opportunity to participate in the market for education based on supply and demand, SAITIM is all about that. The private sector shoulkd one step further. The Private medical schools shoukd be brought up to international standards, and accommodate International students, and earn funds to partially subsidize the local students, like what the Caribbean Medical Schools are doing.

    So the GMOA and SLMC claim is that those with Z scores less than 0.1, is better qualified, because they came from the outstation districts compared to SAITIM students? However, the A/L only measures subject knowledge, and not necessarily intelligence, and the Intelligence test should be part of the selection criteria.

    So, we have for admissions, based on districts, and not taking intelligence into account. only subject matter is taken into account.

    • 4
      5

      Amarasiri
      First every one who sat for the A/L knew about district quotas before hand. So, no one should complain about it now. In fact they should have written articles like this forcing the gov. to get rid of it long tome ago.
      You are wrong to hold the SLMC and the GMOA for all these problems. Decades ago students who didn’t get selected had no other option. Options like now are good but has to be recognized medical institutes. Professional groups like the GMOA has to safeguard their profession. They will never allow substandard institutions to mass produce doctors. That is why every country has a medical body like the slmc to assess quality.
      It is the gov. who should eliminate district quotas by people like you demanding so.

  • 12
    4

    We support all of you in SAITM. SL governemnt should hold its grip on education…if it can not fund to expand education…then only choice is to go for private education…people are born free and they should have choice what to do in education? You should do what you like in education..
    Please do not give up…some Drs and univeristy dons are feeling jealousy of private education? They fear that the reputation of medical profession go down..
    They do not want to see more Drs in SL. They prefer to control the numbers ..
    But that would not happen
    .

    • 9
      4

      why do the most of students want to be a doctor, do they like to save lives? no
      do they want to see recovering patients smile? no,
      parents can proudly say that their children are doctors. This is the main reason that parents enrolled children in SAITUM even if it had problems.

  • 3
    7

    These are unfortunate students,

    “Seeing all this and still wanting to do medicine was not because they were doctors or for the sake of money. But how they enjoyed watching their patients genuine smile made me wonder how sacred is this profession and the struggle is worth it. So why giving up here?

    Who is believing, I am sure you haven’t seen the patients genuine smile. your parents want you to be a doctor for their reputation, easy way to earn money.

    Your parents are educated, but they believe on politicians and businessman. finally your are suffering. knowing about SAITM you and your parents choose to go on this hard path. this stories doesn’t help to change public mind

  • 7
    9

    parents, children believed, still believing politicians and businessman and put the life is at risk, now every one blaming GMOA, government doctors, medical students in state universities and trying to get a sympathy for get the SAITM approved.

    even if this is approved, these students can’t practice medicine in another country because this is not an accredated institution. after that country will face to another problem,

    these people ( if could work as doctors) don’t go to rural areas, trying to hangout in big cities.

    STOP PUBLISHING THESE STORIES

    • 2
      2

      “STOP PUBLISHING THESE STORIES “

      And yet, you get to publish your opinion freely..

      How come ??

      • 1
        1

        maalumiris

        “And yet, you get to publish your opinion freely.. “

        Don’t you know we want to have everything free, like free rice from moon.

        • 0
          0

          “like free rice from moon”

          Dear Native

          That’s so 70’s…
          Got anything more recent and relevant ??

    • 1
      1

      So, you think government must train all medical students with public (tax) money for them to engage in lucrative professions (charge the very tax payers who paid for their education) throughout their life and not allow them (students) to pay and train to do the same. Absurd.

    • 1
      0

      Dead wrong frog. Accreditation comes with time and improvement. They have worked and will work in foreign countries you ignoramus. Scandinavian countries employed by the hundreds those doctors whom SLMC willfully failed at ERPM and gave high salaries too. Do you think they are killing patients there. No way. Practice of medicine has its inbuilt protecting boundary system with consultants overlooking, other staff, drugs, hospital systems for patient safely. You cant kill even if you try. Accreditation is a major issue for corrupt practice and jealous competitors. Doctors trained to heal and not rebels are welcome anywhere.

  • 6
    4

    Dear Chamialka Duwa,
    Feel proud about you. Your clear thinking shows that you would become a great doctor.. Please remember “care” (& respect) for patients is more important that aiming to “cure” patients. (Dalai Lama or Ajan Brahm said this in a sermon, hope you understand the difference between caring & respecting vs focusing on purely curing somebody… which is impossible)..
    Your decision to stay back and give opportunity to your parents to have joy of loving and connecting with their grandchildren is admirable.. As i know, so many of my friends, middle calls parents , miss the opportunity to love & connect with their grandchildren who grow up in foreign cultures…

  • 3
    9

    Chamalka,
    Why are you telling your story. Do you want to get sympathy. I do not think you will win this case. SAITM administrators cheated people. Their drama of attempt to murder too divulged. University students taken this matter.JVP supports it. So it is impossible. The students will agitate continuously. The government can not ignore them as they are powerful vote changes. In this situation, I feel pity. So I like to marry you. Throw away SAITM Lets enjoy life together. You are lovely. Beautiful to me. If you keep on writing the story, we will suspect that in your university, a syllabus is included how to write “my side story” in the medical degree programme. We are not aware of your institution technic of convessing by selecting good A/L result holders to write such stories. Please consider my proposal.

    • 4
      1

      A.L. Nizam

      What kind of perv are you ??????

    • 1
      1

      You crazy bugger! Do you buggers think she wanted to don a hajab share your harem and bore loads of your children.

    • 1
      0

      you are a sick bugger, who cares about JVP and IUSF. their bunch of stupid radicals who does not have any support from General public and wants to see country goes backwords not forward.

  • 5
    1

    It’s indeed unfortunate what has happened to you. Sorry that you are stuck in a place where you won’t get much out of what is known as “learning from peers” as most others don’t come near you in credentials.
    Moreover, lack of clinical exposure will seriously damage your ability to become a doctor.
    If you don’t believe me ask from your teachers. If they happen to tell you the truth, they’d tell you that in fact what you receive is far more inferior than what they’d got as students. I’m not talking about pre- and para- clinicals which are not the real things which makes you a doctor. Even a Veterinary course or a course in human biology will cover that bit. But how can your teachers tell you the truth? Won’t they lose their jobs?
    Ask for quality education that you deserve. Ask for standardisation. Tell your parents (if they are still conscious of what is happening) to ask for it. Resist being deceived by your own system. You still have time.

  • 5
    1

    CT exposes itself in this thread of news in its most lucid way. There is no investigative journalism aspect in this. As you know, undergrads in state Uni’s don’t write their stories here. Then you’ll have a string of thousands with 3 straight As here.
    The real story of SAITM, started as a hybrid institution and gradual deliberate “evolution” into what it is today using all legal loopholes and help of politics is never discussed.
    It is a Non-news for CT as the recent Somalian Pirate threat which almost killed the whole Sri Lankan crew recently was a Non-news for it!!!

  • 14
    5

    Dear Pulashi, Chamalka, Sajeeda, Vinu, Bushara and Ammar,

    I am on your side. Those bastards* who are trying to block you are plain jealous trying to set up a closed shop to keep their incomes free of competition. [*Editor, please feel free to remove this word if I have crossed the line in expressing my disgust at the GMOA and SLMC].

    When you young people become doctors I hope you will be more open minded, less selfish and care more for the public good than this GMOA rabble.

    I may not agree with every word that every one of you says, but the broad principle is the point. You kids (between the ages of my daughter and granddaughter) have every right to be allowed to go forward and practice medicine. Whether some top-up courses are required and their design, I leave to IMPARTIAL experts to determine. The SLMC and State Medical College deans are not the best judges since they have made themselves parties to the dispute and therefore are not unbiased stakeholders. Can the UGC get some less biased input?

    I am not a medical person but in my long academic career in five continents I have had to deal with local and international accredit ion, evaluation, departmental assessment and university Senate decisions in many subject areas, in many universities, in many countries. [I am now retired but have been a professor, department head and dean in internationally well recognised universities for a long time. Long in the tooth you may say, but a bit wise in the head I hope. So I have added some alphabet behind my name below!]

    Viewed from this background the SLMC and my friend Prof Carlo Fonseka for whom I have much respect are wrong, very wrong this time. The GMOA, the students on strike and the politicos who are trying to make trouble for you because they think they can get votes, are beneath contempt. I am sorry that even the JVP from whom I expected a better approach this time is also playing the same game.

    I prefer private higher education to be “not for profit” like our best traditional private schools but that is a huge issue not confined to medical education, so I cannot deal with it here.

    Professor Kumar David
    BSc Eng., PhD, DIC
    Previously FIEEE, FIE, MIE(SL)

    • 8
      3

      @Prof Kumar,
      your opinion is good for the well reformed country. You may have exposed to medical system in USA, all most all the universities are private, but they have the proper way of getting an admission to medical schools. How high their requirements are?
      Singapore, How the competitiveness of getting an admission to medical schools, they have done the survey of how many doctors are needed for their countries in next few years and according that students are enrolled,
      In sri lanka, no such survey, for the SAITUM, minimum 3Cs are enough, what will be the problem of this type of medical school. Do you think the problem is solved? no,
      As someone mention here, these students can’t go abraod because this university is not intentionally recognized, All the students should have to find the job in Sri Lanka. Who will give the solution for future problems. This issue is never be solved because it’s a chain of problems which created by politicians with the help of their supporters.

      • 3
        0

        shiral

        You said:

        “In sri lanka, no such survey, for the SAITUM, minimum 3Cs are enough,”

        I do not think that is so. I know students from rural districts could enter to state medical faculty with 3 passes then what is wrong with 3Cs to enter Private medical faculty,
        You have a biased thinking. Most of the students who have been admitted to SAITM are either,

        1. they are from International Schools who cannot enter the state universities opted for SAITM and these students have very good results such as 2As and something.

        2. They had very good Sri Lankan AL results such as A and 2Bs and as they are from good city districts and due to the district quota system their rightful place was snatched and given to someone with 3s from the rural districts displacing their chance to enter the state university.

        This is unfair and exam is an exam person with the higher aggregate should be given a better chance than with one having lower aggregate. The district basis is a real farce as, .

        1. There are poor schools also in cities like Colombo and Kandy and what about these students and they have a double tragedy due to the district quota.

        2. Many students from the rural district, and a trend where students living in Colombo / Kandy register in a rural school and do not attend the rural school and cut school and attend classes in Colombo. Now these students enter the state university with very low results. They have beaten the system and got rewarded for it! .

        • 0
          0

          @ lester
          your are completely wrong. you don’t know why the district quota is imposed, what are the facilities there, how hardship they are gone through.
          Every system has some plus and minus points. Even in Kandy and Colombo districts have under previlage school, but at least they have a chance to attend tuition classes.
          There are few more cases that rural students may come to tuition classes in Colombo. you can’t it generalized.
          I don’t think most of the students admitted to SAITUM has 3c, but it is the requirement. having 3c and Entering into state universities from rural areas, even 30 years ago is unimaginable. once those students are struggle at first second years, but many of them are graduated with good results.

          Either you may not know about education at state universities.

    • 1
      0

      Will the Editor Colombo Telegraph confirm or deny that this here Professor Kumar David is the “real Professor Kumar David”?

  • 3
    2

    Had a lot of hope when UNP came into power after voting for them. Unfortunately they failed big time on major reforms which they promised. Already two years gone and bloody disappointing.

    Private medical education is one such issue and they are dragging their feet.

    Don’t allow govt doctors to to do private practice and that is the end of the road for GMOA.

    • 2
      1

      Jagath Fernando

      “Don’t allow govt doctors to to do private practice and that is the end of the road for GMOA”

      You are absolutely right and spot on here.

      GMOA wants not to destroy free education and that is equally true not to destroy free healthcare too as education and health are the two important prerequisites for a good life.

      So stop private practice for Government doctors which was so before 1977. The private practice is certainly abused and many Government doctor are not in the place of work but in their channel office doing private practice.

  • 6
    2

    Chamalka

    Hopefully the SAITM matter will be resolved early and you will be able to practice as a doctor.

    However ensure you get a posting to a govt hospital even in Timbaktu since life is good after that. Imagine the perks you would get:

    1 opportunity to have specialized training abroad at tax payer expense
    2 free living quarters outside Colombo when posted to out stations
    3 opportunity to admit kids to any popular govt school
    4 duty free car permits
    5 can do private practice at your convenience
    6 can go on strike and cripple the health sector any time and hold the patients to ransom.
    7 go on strike whenever you want a salary increase

    I am sure even your parents who are doctors have enjoyed the above privileges when they were in govt service at tax payer expense and treat the poor tax payer like dirt when they fall sick !!

    Good luck with your exams.

    Jagath

  • 3
    2

    You have addressed a major issue of separating family members unnecessarily. Parents are concerned when their children leave for foreign soil. Isolation and loneliness can lead to wrong thinking and behavior patterns for acceptance The struggle with food, laundry, accommodation, foreign language and culture are additional burdens to an overtaxed medical curriculum. How does one untwist the fried brains of GMOA and IUSF that other people can study what they want without GMOA permission . SLMC who never had any documents on standards or compliance, has never given them to any one so far. SLMC will never be able to give it to SAITM now what they do not have. This truth must be accepted by all. SLMC CANNOT GIVE MINIMUM STANDARDS OR COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATES which they don’t own. SLMC is a bi Farce.

  • 6
    2

    These SAITM students clearly can’t see the other side of the story. This lady says “The fact that I couldn’t enter a government medical faculty was not because I was a failure, but because I couldn’t get into the district quota, while there were plenty of students who did A/L’s from various other districts, with z score values less than mine entered university while I was left behind. It’s not just me.”

    Though she says “There are 1000s out there who faced this situation and who WILL face this in near future too”, she is unable or unwilling to see that the vast majority of those 1000s never had, and will never have the money to go to SAITM.

    This is the thing about SAITM. It caters to the rich under-qualified, leaving out the poor underqualified.

    Try to understand Ms Rathnayake.

    • 0
      2

      Man, There is no equal society anywhere in this world. Some are born poor some rich. Marxism didn’t work. So, it’s just stupid to be jealous. From her background any sane person can see that this young lady would have been a doctor even there is no SAITM. Only difference; the country would have lost a vast sum of precious foreign exchange.

    • 0
      1

      Do u know many kids can not afford private tuition. not only that they cannot even afford free uni education. Don’t be jealous and mean if someone has money. let them use it for their benefit. you won’t achieve anything like raising the standard of living of poor by stop people funding their own education.

  • 2
    2

    “”””The fact that I couldn’t enter a government medical faculty was not because I was a failure, but because I couldn’t get into the district quota, while there were plenty of students who did A/L’s from various other districts, with z score values less than mine entered university while I was left behind. It’s not just me”””

    Seems to us this young lady hasn’t had visited to poor districts, she might have lived only in kandy. You educated in one of the best schools in kandy, all most all the teachers are graduates, English education, lab facilities are good, moreover, you had access to good tuition classes, may be you had one to one tuition, even though you can’t score 3 As. so how do we expect from students who study in poor district to score at least 3Bs, they don’t have facilities, no good teachers. So, you should be ashed about your results, don’t blame on district quota, if they score 2 B and 1 C is equal to 3 As from popular schools. admit your failure

  • 7
    5

    why ddnt u look into the credibility of SAITM when u joined? specially the SLMC’s stance on it? dont try to earn sympathy when you are the one at fault. nobody asked u to join a medical college which wasnt then recognized by SLMC. pls justify why u chose saitm against the advice of SLMC.

  • 6
    1

    Chamalka
    I am surprised that your parents being medical personnel did not make sure your degree is registerable with the SLMC!
    Are they real doctors?
    Your parent’s sadness when every time your sister leaves abroad does not warm anybody’s heart. A poor village family’s daughter who has better results than you and had no university education and going to work in a garment factory is a real heart breaker.

    • 1
      5

      Eusense

      If a student with poor results and aggregate can displace this student with higher aggregate and enter the state University, and make this student almost go to garment factory and that is fair, what is wrong when this student can do the same?

      The student in the Village with better results than her (1A 2Bs) would have got medicine in the state university because in the rural village you could get medicine in a state university with just basic results.

      There is lot of abuse in the district quota system. Unfortunately this student did not beat the system as many do:

      Many students from the rural district, and a trend where students living in Colombo / Kandy register in a rural school and do not attend the rural school and cut school and attend classes in Colombo. Now these students enter the state university with very low results. They have beaten the system and got rewarded for it! .

      You are not considering the poor schools in so called good districts and these students suffer a double tragedy.

      • 3
        0

        shri
        You are talking about a different issue. All these students who sat for the AL exam new how selections are made. They should have complained about district quotas to the gov. and got rid of it. Now bringing it up is a no brainer.

      • 0
        0

        Shrikharan

        You must be not living in sri Lanka. please do a survey on state medical students results.
        even if they enter from rural areas their results are good, why? intelligent, hard working students, but they live in rural areas.
        what happen to students who live in better district?

  • 1
    1

    Regardless you took London A L or Sri Lankan
    A L in highest marks you are not qualified to enter
    A national or private medical or engineering
    School in the country.create a different admission test
    Like in US colleges.
    Have a MCAT (Medical College Admission Test)
    Or ECAT(Engineering College Admission Test)
    Course.

    I have met some Sri Lankan students attending some
    US colleges who did very well in London A L exam
    But they cannot enter into the medical school unless they pass MCAT in high level so they spent 3 more years taking MCAT level courses (4 subjects).
    If they pass MCAT with high marks only they will find a good medical schoollikenUCLAnor Boston Collge

  • 0
    1

    Pena Kiyanna
    Sorry you are wrong only just solution is to abolish district quota system and establish all island merit. District basis is a real farce and unfair by those who have much higher aggregate and who were rejected to those with very poor results and aggregate.

    I have mentioned elsewhere too many are abusing this district quota and successfully beaten the system!

    1. There are poor schools also in cities like Colombo and Kandy and what about these students and they have a double tragedy due to the district quota.

    2. Many students from the rural district, and a trend where students living in Colombo / Kandy register in a rural school and do not attend the rural school and cut school and attend classes in Colombo. Now these students enter the state university with very low results. They have beaten the system and got rewarded for it! .

    It is the all island merit that should be counted and other compromises are bound to be abused.

    • 0
      0

      Shrinkharan

      I am suporting district quota

      I have one important question from you, Have you traveled around sri Lanka? that’s all. if not please travel.
      Then you will stop talking.

  • 0
    0

    From all posts,it appears that the teachers at SAITM are those who are also teaching at various medical faculties of state universities.
    Most of these teacher/doctors may definitely be also members of the GMOA which itself leads the protests against SAITM.
    They have most probably been lured to teach at SAITM by large salaries which they can effortlessly earn by teaching.
    Thus these people are “running with the hare, and hunting with the hounds”.
    I remember reading somewhere that one professor in a state medical faculty is “Vice Chancellor” of SAITM “university”.

    All this commenced by former Minister S.B.Dissanayake gazetting the South Asian Institute of Technology as a private investment enterprise.
    Then, very quietly, the words “and Medicine” were added, and the
    Mushroom Medical School was slyly born.

    In any country, establishing a medical school is a long process involving discussion with ministries concerned with education, leading universities with medical faculties and state bodies which enforce curriculums, standards, content, physical infrastructure and equipment, location and mode of choosing/admitting students.

    This is done by interaction with bodies called Medical Councils which exist in all countries, (and even in federal states of some countries like USA and India) which are also concerned with duties, registration and behaviour of all physicians.

    This has not happened in Sri Lanka.

    Any “University Grants Commission” or, similar body, has nothing to do with this process in any other country.

  • 0
    0

    I think its right time to allow fee paying universities for every academic course as per the demand but maintaing acceptable standards, in this day and age we cannot restict to free education as the demand for education is growing.

    Also students should be well aware that there is a quota system and different cut off marks, they sit for the examination knowing very well the cut off mark one has to achieve to do medicine or engineering at different universities.

    I recently heard JVP was quoting some few examples of sucess of rural students who benefited from free education, and says the SAITM should be closed. These JVP blokes proclaim an ideal world where everyone one is equal. What a stupid theory, even in the develop world there are many anomalies in education systems.

    Its better to get rid of free tertiary education and provide loans to students to pay for their courses and making a scheme for paying back upon employment.

    This will have enormous benefits both to students and lecturers

    No strikes of any form,

    Lecttures have to compete with others, cannot be granted continuous employment if their teaching quality become low.

    Students have a say to assess lecturing quality

    If you stretch the couse duration due to industrial action or poor performance their loans increase and cannot afford to play into the hands of political parties.

    Increase the ranking of state universities etc.

  • 0
    0

    Of course Pillai it’s the same silly old me.

    Kumari (AK) David

  • 0
    0

    SLMC as a farce lies exposed. No documents at all, they are sailing unchartered waters hoping they can dictate to SAITM. Never gave Minimum standards or Compliance certificates to anybody in all of their working life as they never had any. They always provisionally registered all local MBBS under UGC without a murmur, such as KDU, NCMC, Colombo, Rajarata, Eastern and other new ones to follow. Their venom on Dr. Neville’s success is let loose on legally qualified SAITM MBBS doctors. This was judged as injustice in the verdict. If there is a shortfall in seeing overcrowded dying floor patients of govt. hospitals which was obstructed by GMOA afer health dept. agreement, they should be given a 2 year internship under strict supervision of consultants to get more exposure to dying patients. Every doctor knows they improve with experience only as they continue practice. No clinicals practiced by academics warming chairs setting exam.

  • 0
    0

    I must confess, I took advantage of the weakness of the system but I did not do anything illegal. I will not reveal my identity. I sat my AL exam way back in the 1990s.

    I was grew up in Colombo,

    My parents felt the plight of many Colombo students with very good results with all island merit well within the allocated quota to enter the medical /Engineering faculty but forced to lose their due chance to enter these faculties just to give their rightfully due place to those from the rural districts who obtained very poor results and aggregate.

    So my parents felt I will not benefit from going to a good Colombo school and the disadvantages outweigh the advantages, and got me admitted in a bad rural school where teachers themselves play truant and so students could do as they wish.

    So now I was absent most of the time and was in Colombo and followed classes. from good teachers. I passed my OL exam from the rural school and after sat my AL exam also through this school. I passed all 4 subjects with simple passes. I would not have entered any seat of learning in the university either by all island merit or though Colombo district.

    But I came within the allocated quota for the district I went to school and entered the medical faculty. Today am a doctor.

    I actually did not do anything illegal. My parents were well off and I was able to rush up and down from my village ‘home’ to Colombo home and back to village ‘home’ in our vehicle. I cut school in many days. Teachers too did not know I was absent as they were also did not come to school.

    My parents would not have done this and they felt the unfairness Colombo students have to face due to the district basis of admissions and felt there was no advantage in attending a Colombo school. The advantage in attending a Colombo school is nullified and not only being nullified goes beyond on debit balance.

    So they sent me to a village school but gave me a good private education in Colombo. So basically I got Colombo education but entered through the village! Actually I did not do anything illegal. This goes to show the unfairness of the system of admission and I took vantage of it!

Leave A Comment

Comments should not exceed 200 words. Embedding external links and writing in capital letters are discouraged. Commenting is automatically disabled after 5 days and approval may take up to 24 hours. Please read our Comments Policy for further details. Your email address will not be published.