The minimum standards of medical education will be gazetted within the next two weeks, Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne said, adding that it was currently at the Legal Draftsman's Department.
Addressing an audience after laying the foundation stone for the proposed nurse training school in Galle, the Health Minister said the quality of medical education in Sri Lanka would not be lowered.
"The minimum standards of medical education were formulated after I took over the Health Ministry. When the Sri Lanka Medical Council started to talk about the standard of medical education, the world standards on medical education were already formulated and available but the SLMC did not know it,” he alleged.
“Before commencing the Dr. Neville Fernando Hospital, the relevant persons had checked the minimum standards of medical education with the SLMC but the (then) SLMC President had told them that there was no such standard,” the minister said.
“Then the culprit was the SLMC. But now some talk and shout about the quality of the medical education.”
“Private medical education is widespread and some of Sri Lankan doctors have been educated in foreign private medical colleges. Some are opposing private medical education. What they are having is a dialogue between idiots,” the Minister said.
He added that the present Government was committed to protecting free health and free education.