"No guarantee on BOI medical degrees"

Medical Faculty Students Action Committee (MFSAC) demonstrated in front of the Colombo Medical Faculty against the government’s recent moves to allow private institutions to issue higher education degrees.

Medical students warned that the standard of the medical profession would seriously be flawed if new medical degree awarding institutions are introduced under Board of Investment (BOI) projects.

Kremlin Wickramasinghe, president of the Colombo Medical Faculty Student Union, speaking to BBC Sandeshaya said that the Education Ministry will not have the authority to supervise the doings private education establishments.

Workers say government is “biased towards private companies”

“Nobody can guarantee the standard of education provided by these institutions.”

He warned that the “degrees” awarded by these institutions will not be accepted as qualification to be employed as a doctor.

Although Vinayag Mission, a private university in India, has been planning to establish a medical faculty in Sri Lanka, the institute has not sought permission from the Sri Lanka Medical Council, Wickramasinghe said.

Engineering Corporation

Meanwhile, workers of State Engineering Coorporation of Sri Lanka (SEC) marched from their headquarters to prime minister’s office to hand over a petition against government’s “bias towards private companies” in offering contracts for post tsunami reconstruction.

Chief Organiser of the Corporation, Co-operative and Mercantile Union (CCMU) Dudley Kalansuriyaarachchi told BBC Sandeshaya that authorities are “conspiring against the government sector”.

Students say ministry will not have any authority over private colleges

He said Sri Lankas’s largest engineering institute SLEC was not offered any project to rebuild tsunami affected areas while many other private companies have started reconstruction work.

The CCMU has conducted one day strike demanding the promised pay rise of Rs. 2500 by the November’s budget.

Inland Revenue

Members of Inland Revenue Services Union (IRSU) also on Wednesday protested “moves to turn Inland Revenue Department into an Authority or another institution”.

They accused that a “tax mafia” along with certain officers are preventing the implementation of proposals put forward by the unions to modernise Inland Revenue.