Following the related Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between several parties, the provision of the relevant professorial unit based medical training to students of the Medical Faculty of the Sabaragamuwa University at the Provincial General (Teaching) Hospital in Ratnapura commenced yesterday (18).

The related parties including the Ministry of Education, the University Grants Commission, the Ministry of Health, the Sabaragamuwa University, and the Ratnapura Teaching Hospital had recently signed a MoU to provide professorial unit based medical training to the university’s medical students with the support of medical consultants attached to the Ratnapura Teaching Hospital.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, a medical specialist privy to the matter, said that the provision of the said training commenced yesterday, despite attempts having been made by certain parties to disrupt the programme. Accordingly, a total of 70 students will receive the relevant training in General Medicine from Consultant Physician Dr. K. Jeganathan, while 25 other students will receive the training in Paediatric Medicine from Consultant Paediatrician, Dr. Saman Abeywardana. The students who are supposed to undergo the training in Psychiatric Medicine have been given two weeks of vacation as the relevant unit is currently occupied by students belonging to another batch.

It was recently reported that the Deans of a few other medical faculties are against the planned programme to provide the students of the Sabaragamuwa University with the relevant training with the support of the medical specialists attached to the Health Ministry, and that they were planning to have an immediate discussion on the matter. It was learnt that certain Deans were of the view that this preparation would have a negative impact on other medical faculties in which there were clinical services consisting of medical specialists attached to the universities themselves.