Solve SAITM issue immediately: Alwis

The President and the Prime Minister should solve the SAITM issue immediately without dragging it, Media Coordinator of the Parents' Union of Medical Students Wasantha Alwis said.

Addressing a press conference held at the Organization of Professionals Association in Colombo yesterday, he said both the SAITM and state medical students' parents have come to an agreement that all qualified SAITM students should be offered an MBBS from the Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) or a state medical faculty recognized by the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC). Others should be offered an SLMC-recognized foreign MBBS from a recognized foreign university. All other parties connected to the SAITM issue agreed to this decision.

According to Alwis, the entire country had rejected the government's stand on the SAITM. Therefore, the government should remove the Health Minister, Higher Education Minister and Deputy Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva immediately and solve the SAITM issue. The Health Minister sent home the previous regime and this regime. If the government does not solve the SAITM issue, parents will take tougher action against the government and they will make sure that this government will be defeated in all upcoming elections.

SAITM Medical Students' Parents' Association Chairman Gemunu Wijeratne said the government should solve the SAITM issue within two weeks and send all qualified SAITM students to the KDU Medical Faculty or another state medical faculty and others to an SLMC - recognized foreign university.