New arrangements for Allied Health Science Course

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has agreed to conduct the Allied Health Sciences Course as a three year normal degree course and allow students who have achieved a higher level of marks recommended by the University the right to pursue a four year special degree course.

Apart from this doctors have agreed to assist allied health science students to obtain clinical training, Higher Education Minister S. B. Dissanayake said in a press release yesterday.

This follows discussions the UGC had with the Attorney General since all attempts to resolve the matter with discussions with the relevant parties and the GMOA as directed by the Supreme Court had failed.

The release said this new arrangement however will be applicable to new entrants to the Faculties of Allied Health Sciences and not to students currently studying in them.

The Minister said the UGC had looked at this issue independently and arrived at this decision after careful discussions. The Applied Science students themselves did not show any strong opposition to this decision. However, the Convenor of the Inter University Students Federation who accompanied the student delegation insisted that the Ministry should fight against the GMOA stance and allow a four year course to the Applied Science students.

The Ministry explained to him that these kinds of boundaries are placed against medical students even in universities such as Cambridge and if they disagreed with the arrangement they could appeal against it to a five member Supreme Court Bench.

Minister Dissanayake said as Minister in Charge of Higher Education he would never allow any injustice to be caused against students. The Ministry had no opposition towards granting a four year course to all allied health science students. But he would like to continue the degree courses by systematically solving the legal problems which had arisen in the process.