Medical education minimum standards set

Health Minister Dr Rajitha Senaratne yesterday received Cabinet approval to gazette Minimum Standards on Medical Education under the Medical Ordinance.

Under the new standards, it will be compulsory for students to have sat for Biology, Chemistry and Physics for their Advanced Level exams and scored a minimum grade of two Credits and a Simple Pass in one sitting.

The Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC), the University Grants Commission, the Attorney General and the Legal Draftsman have agreed to these standards.

The Minimum Standards which prescribed regulations for: structure of education program, assessment of students, admission, academic staff, infrastructure and resources, syllabus structure and content and the need to constantly update curricula also specified that,“Students have a minimum period of 200 hours in planned learning in a community/first contact care setting to engage in primary care, health promotion and preventive medicine, and a minimum of 50 hours of clinical forensic medicine and forensic pathology”.

It also insisted that all affiliated, private or foreign universities too needed to adhere to the set minimum standards. Thus it stipulated, “Every recognised university or institution within or outside Sri Lankan which is engaged in providing medical education and training, alone or jointly with any Sri Lankan or foreign recognized university or institution under affiliation or under a Twin Medical program shall ensure that the minimum standards prescribed by these regulations are adhered to and maintained”.

The Minimum standards will be gazetted and submitted for Parliament approval next.