Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo
| කොළඹ විශ්වවිද්යාල වෛද්ය පිඨය | |
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| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Established | 1870 |
| Chancellor | Most Rev Dr Oswald Gomis |
| Vice-Chancellor | Prof Kshanika Hirimburegama |
| Location | Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Campus | Urban |
| Website | Official website |
Established in 1870 as the Colombo Medical School, the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, is the second oldest medical school in South Asia.
In the early 1840s the Colombo Medical College was amalgamated with University College Colombo, to create the University of Ceylon. In its coloured history spanning over 135 years it has produced thousands of doctors who have helped contribute to the relatively impressive health statistics in Sri Lanka. Over 1200 students are currently enrolled in the faculty. And the faculty was recognized as an excellent medical faculty all over the world. It produced many excellent doctors for the world.
In 1839, the Governor of Ceylon J. A. Stewart Mackenzie started sending Ceylonese students to Calcutta for medical studies to the oldest medical school in South Asia - The Bengal Medical College.
In the 1860s the Colonial Surgeon, Dr. James Loos was requested to report on the large depopulation of the Wanni. He recommended that medical facilities should be available throughout the island and to this end a medical school should be opened. The Colombo Medical School was thus opened in 1870 by the then Governor Sir Hercule Robinson. Dr James Loos was its first principal. Dr. E.L.Koch was the second principal in whose memory the Koch Memorial Clock Tower, which still stands, was built in 1881.
The beginnings of the medical school were modest. It was situated in the General Hospital Colombo, and had three teachers and 25 students. It offered a course of three years duration until in 1873 the course was extended to four years. Its progress was rapid. In 1880 the medical school was raised to the status of a college (renamed Ceylon Medical College) and in 1884 the course was extended to 5 years.
In 1875 Mudaliyar Samson Rajapakse gifted three and a half acres of land on which the present Faculty is located. Sir Charles Henry de Soysa, Mudaliyar Susew de Soysa, Muhandiram A.Simon Fernando Wijegooneratne and Mudaliyar Vimala Gunawardana donated the buildings. These buildings are no more and the Anatomy block, built in 1913, is the oldest building now. In 1887, the Diploma of Licentiate of Medicine and Surgery (LMS) granted by the College became registrable with the General Medical Council (GMC) of the United Kingdom.
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Wikipedia