Concerns have been raised over the delisting of several Russian universities awarding scholarships to Sri Lanka since the 1960s. The decision, which was made at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) on 26 June 2020, is said to have affected a number of Sri Lankan students currently studying in these universities. As learnt by The Sunday Morning, most of these students were awarded scholarships based on their performance at the Advanced Level (A/L) examination; the affected students are mainly those who obtained high marks. As a result, Sri Lanka is facing the risk of losing the scholarships given by Russian universities to these Sri Lankan students. The only Russian university the SLMC recognises doesn’t provide scholarships to Sri Lanka. It is learnt that the rejected universities provided medical scholarships to Sri Lanka since the 1960s, while the Government of Russia provided around 40 scholarships to Sri Lankan students so far this year, out of which five were medical scholarships. It is also learnt that the objective of awarding these scholarships is to provide good-quality doctors for Sri Lanka so as to strengthen the bilateral relationship between Sri Lanka and Russia. Students plead In a letter to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the affected students stressed that from the applicants for the 2020 scholarships, applications for which were called for in 2019, five students who obtained the best results in the 2019 A/L examination were awarded scholarships. Accordingly, Sewmi Himaya Sammani (AAA), S.K. Induwara Mahim Samarawickrama (AAB), R.M.R.A.S. Ranasinghe (AAB), Rosary Suranthi Nirmani Jayakody (AAC), and T. Maneesha Sohani Pieris (AAB) were awarded scholarships from Peoples’ Friendship University, Tver State Medical University, Peoples’ Friendship University again, and Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, respectively. The students pointed out that while the SLMC rejected the universities that awarded scholarships to these students, several other countries recognise these universities, which have also been ranked amongst the top universities in the world. A decision was made at the AGM of the SLMC on 26 June 2020 to delist Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (formally known as Patrice Lumumba University), Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, and Tver State Medical University that award full scholarships to Sri Lankan students. In a letter written to the SLMC on 20 August 2020, the Association of Sri Lankan Graduates from Socialist Countries (ASLGSC) stressed that it was unfair to reject the Russian universities. The letter listed four universities – Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Tver State Medical University, and Astrakhan State Medical University. ASLGSC Secretary Dhammike Mendis stressed: “The unfair rejection of these universities caused hardship and injustice to the students currently studying in the said universities. “Most of these students have gone under the scholarship programme offered to Sri Lanka since the 1960s,” he stated. In the letter, the Secretary also noted that the SLMC hadn’t given its reasons for delisting the universities, and requested the Council to give them reasons for such action. ‘Sri Lanka has high standards’ Meanwhile, when contacted by The Sunday Morning, SLMC Registrar Dr. Ananda Hapugoda stressed that the SLMC rejected seven universities out of the 32 universities that applied to the Council. “This is not the end of the world. They can appeal. We have given the universities reasons for rejection. If they rectify (those areas) and give us good graduates, we will be able to recognise them. This is the usual process; if we’ve rejected one university because they’re not teaching forensics, they propose to us that they will establish a forensic unit and teach our students forensics,” Dr. Hapugoda noted. Explaining further, he noted that when it comes to medical education, Sri Lanka’s standards are quite different to other countries’ standards. As most of these foreign graduates are placed generally at the bottom of the merit list and have to work in faraway places, like in villages, where they will have to work alone, he said, Sri Lanka’s standards need to be high. “Our standards are high. Therefore, we need good-quality doctors. The yardstick by which they are assessing quality is based on world rankings – this is based on certain other aspects which are not relevant to us. “If you take world-renowned Oxford University, they have not applied (to us), and my gut feeling is they will not get our recognition because they don’t teach certain subjects we want – for example, subjects like community medicine and forensic medicine,” he claimed. “In England, legal medicine is handled by separate specialist doctors. In Sri Lanka, it’s not like that. If you go to Mullaitivu, that doctor must be capable of doing a post-mortem and submitting the documents to courts. “You can’t go by the argument of world ranking. Our process is very scientific and transparent,” he explained. The Registrar also noted that whenever the Council comes across a problem with a university, they write to the university in order to discuss the same. “We are doing all these to safeguard our citizens,” he stated. “If we allow for low-quality graduates, our own poor people will suffer. Not the rich. The rich can go to the best doctors. In the village, very poor farmers, carpenters, etc. contribute to our economy. On those grounds, we can’t compromise our standards,” he noted. He also alleged that the main objective of universities in different countries is to sell their degrees, and that is why they are concerned about standards. SLMC’s mandate Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) President Prof. Indika Karunathilake told The Sunday Morning that the recognition of universities in Sri Lanka is based on criteria, which are minimum standards. He stated that it was part of the SLMC’s mandate to approve the universities Sri Lankan students attend, adding that it was “legally correct”. “The university listings have to be reviewed for renewal. The universities have to submit the applications, which will then be reviewed by medical experts in the Council,” said Prof. Karunathilake, adding: “The assessments have to be done by experts in medical education.” Meanwhile, when contacted by The Sunday Morning, a Health Ministry source said Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi would ask the SLMC to disclose the reasons behind delisting the universities. The Health Ministry sources stressed that while the SLMC has the sole authority to decide on which degree programmes offered by universities should be accepted or rejected, because the matter is affecting the bilateral relationship of the two countries, the Minister would ask the Council to give reasons for its decision. Russian Embassy raises concerns Issuing a press release on Friday (11), the Cultural Section of the Embassy of the Russian Federation said the SLMC had delisted the universities without prior information and added that it hopes the SLMC’s decision will not influence the practise of providing Russian State scholarships to Sri Lankan citizens in future, causing a loss of opportunities to young individuals to pursue their higher education free of charge. The press release also stated: “The Russian side is concerned of the decision of the SLMC to remove three prominent Russian state universities...from the SLMC Approved List without prior information, despite the fact that the SLMC held several meetings with the officials of these Russian universities who came down to Sri Lanka throughout the past years, and regular payments to the SLMC were made by the universities in order to maintain the membership.”