If Supreme Court gives same ruling on SAITM issue: Prof. Carlo Fonseka should resign: SB

Social Empowerment and Welfare Minister S.B. Dissanayake on Tuesday said Professor Carlo Fonseka, the President of the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC), should consider resigning if Supreme Court also gave the same decision regarding the SAITM as the Appeal Court had given. He said the SLMC had no authority over the court ruling and if its President would not agree with the court ruling it’s better he considers his resignation. Recently, SLMC decided to submit an application to the Supreme Court to appeal against the ruling of the Appeal Court regarding the SAITM.

The Minister said the Appeal Court has already ruled that the SAITM was legally entitled to issue medical degrees to students and also the Court directed the SLMC to give provisional registration to medical students passing out from SAITM.

“If Supreme Court also gives the same decision, its better Prof. Carlo Fonseka to consider his resignation because even after receiving the Appeal Court ruling over SAITM, the SLMC still refused to register SAITM medical undergraduates,” he said.

During the tenure of the previous government, the SLMC agreed to register SAITM as an institution to issue medical degrees for students, he said.

“Since the SLMC approved the SAITM, the previous government allowed the SAITM to register under the University Grants Commission (UGC),” he said.

The Minister said UGC officials had started taking part in the interview board at the SAITM to recruit students for the fifth batch of the university’s medical faculty.