Speaker Karu Jayasuriya yesterday signed the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (Special Provision) Bill to provide for the absorption of medical students registered with the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) to the Kotelawala Defence University.
The Speaker’s Media Division said the Speaker gave his assent to the Bill. Accordingly, the Bill came into effect from yesterday.
The Bill was unanimously passed with amendments in Parliament last week. SAITM will stand abolished by law after absorbing its students to the Kotelawala Defence University. As per the Bill, the students registered with the SAITM in between September 15, 2009 and May 15, 2017 will be absorbed to the Kotelawala
University to follow the MBBS Degree Programme if they have obtained the basic qualifications.
“Basic qualifications” mean 3 ‘S’ passes for Chemistry, Physics and Biology at the Advanced Level Examination or an equivalent foreign qualification including equivalent qualifications of students who have offered the subjects Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics.
The absorbed students will be awarded the MBBS Degree (KDU) if they successfully complete the study programme. Each SAITM student absorbed into the KDU will be individually assessed and clinical training has been made mandatory for them.
The long-drawn out SAITM issue is expected come to an end with this move. The Bill only applies to the 980 students already registered with the SAITM.
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