South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine
 |
|
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Established | 2008 |
| President | Dr. Neville Fernando |
| Vice-Chancellor | Prof. Ananda Samarasekara |
|
Academic staff
|
194 |
| Location | Malabe, Sri Lanka |
| Campus | Main Campus, 4 acres (Suburban), Malabe |
| Colors |
Blue, green |
| Affiliations | Buckinghamshire New University, Asian Institute of Technology, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Nizhny Novgorod State Medical Academy |
| Website | www |
The South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) (originally known as the South Asian Institute of Technology and Management) is a privately owned educational institution providing higher education in Sri Lanka. It is recognised as a degree awarding institute under section 25A of the Universities Act No. 16 of 1978. It is the first private sector Green Campus to be established in the country. In July 2016, the Government of Sri Lanka suspended the provision for new admissions at the medical faculty of SAITM.
It is has become a highly controversial national issue with various segments questioning its standards and legality in terms of its operations as the only private medical college in the country, however a verdict by the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka in February 2017 up held its legality and the validity of the medical degrees award by it, instructing the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) register its graduates as Medical Doctors. SLMC has since appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.
The South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine was established in 2008 by Dr. Neville Fernando with the aim to provide tertiary qualifications in Medicine, Engineering and Information Technology, Management and Finance, and Information Communication Technology and Media. The institute was initially affiliated with the Nizhny Novgorod State Medical Academy (Russia), the Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand) and Buckinghamshire New University (England), awarding degrees through those respective institutes. In 2011 SAITM applied for recognition from the University Grants Commission (UGC) as a degree awarding institution, with the ability to award its own degrees. The UGC, in 2013, granted SAITM a degree awarding status despite protests from the Inter-University Students’ Federation (IUSF) and the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA). SAITM held their first convocation in March 2013, conferring degrees to ten students from the Faculty of ICT and Media and eighteen students from the Faculty of Management and Finance.
In 2017, President Maithripala Sirisena proposed to list SAITM on the stock exchange to as an answer to criticism on its ownerships allowing anyone to buy shares. Sirisena pointed out that over 75,000 to 85,000 Sri Lankan students go overseas annually for higher education which could be reduced if quality private universities exist in Sri Lanka. Health minister Rajitha Senaratne also echoed similar sentiment claiming that proper guidelines will be established to administer SAITM which will also be applicable to future international universities that have expressed willingness to expand into Sri Lanka.
...
Wikipedia