40th Anniversary of Jaffna University's Medical Faculty

On the eve of the 40th anniversary of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Jaffna (UoJ), which falls tomorrow (6), its 1st batch of Medical students reminisce with nostalgia.

The Medical Faculty of the UoJ was started in 1977 by the government, to overcome the shortage of Medical professionals in Sri Lanka. The 1st batch were 75 Tamil students.

Senior Medical Officer, Trincomalee General Hospital, Dr. T. Thavalcodirajah, of the 1st batch recalls how the students were tasked with finding an appropriate location for the Faculty, and they had all chosen the new Ayurvedic College building in Kaithady.

The late Prof. Hoover (Biochemistry), the 1st Dean of the Faculty, got to work immediately and organised the lectures and the facility in a short time. His simplified version of Biochemistry is still remembered by the students. Former Director of Education- Jaffna, Mr Sivanathan joined as the 1st Registrar of this Medical Faculty.

Among the many experienced teachers who joined the Faculty from other Medical Faculties, were Prof Parameswaren, Prof Sivapalan, Prof Sivasuriya, Prof Sivagnanasundaram, Dr Sivarajah, Dr Mrs Ganeshamoorthy, Prof and Dr Mrs Saravanapavananthan, Prof Balasubramanium, Prof N. Sreeharan, Prof Karunainathan, Dr Ampikapathy, Dr Sathiyanathan, Dr Chandrakumar, Dr Naveenan, Dr and Dr Mrs Varman, Dr Narenthiranathan, Dr Nagewaran, Dr and Dr Mrs Vetpillai, Prof Ramadas and Mrs Ramadas.

Prof Sreeharan remains indelible in the minds of the students for his clinical knowledge and his concise notes is still preserved by the students even today.

However, it was not all smooth sailing for the students. Dr. Thavalcodirajah recalls the hardships they had to undergo because of the limited resources of the Faculty.

First, the village of Kaithady, due to its conservative nature, refused to accept the Faculty and refused to accommodate the students in their homes.

This meant they had to find accommodation in other places. Some rented houses and made these into hostelSarvodhayam, a little isolated house opposite the Faculty, which still stands as a gentle reminder.

There were only a limited supply of books in the Library, while the Lab had meager equipment. However, the Teachers improvised. Cadavers were scarce, with 4 groups working on each limb at one time, when learning Anatomy.

Despite the hardships, the students made sure the University administration built the Medical Faculty on time at Thirunelvely. They held protest marches and did 'Shramadana' to get work done on this building.

The building now complete and trees planted 40 years ago still stand as sentinels over the Faculty. The late Prof Vithiyananthan who worked with commitment, is gratefully remembered at this moment in time. The Faculty had the best Clinical teaching staff from the Jaffna Hospital.

The pioneer batch will celebrate its 40th year after graduation as Medical Doctors with a grand reunion at the Jetwing Beach Hotel, Negombo, in the 1st week of August.