Whither Eastern University Medical Faculty?

by Prof. K. Thedchanamoorthy

(July 15, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka Guardian)The establishment of a Medical Faculty at the Eastern University was the response to the long felt need of the Eastern region in respect to higher education and health care of the people. The study programme is built upon a carefully prepared curriculum in line with modern medical education principles. Though, at present, the Faculty has only a few senior staff, the study programme is effectively carried out with the help of consultants and other senior medical staff from the Teaching Hospital, Batticaloa.

Due to the recent changes in the politico-military situation in the region, the University Grants Commission has admitted more Sinhala and Muslim students to the Medical Faculty for the 2008 Academic year.

The District Secretariat of Batticaloa, considering the importance of the Medical Faculty has allocated fifteen acres of land at Pillayaradi, in the Batticaloa municipal area to develop infrastructural facilities for the Faculty. In spite of all these favourable portents for the new Faculty, it is disappointing that the Council of the Eastern University has recently taken a decision to shift the site of the Medical Faculty to the main campus at Vantharumoolai, which is about 25 km from the Batticaloa Teaching Hospital. The main campus at Vantharumoolai is already facing a space problem to accommodate buildings and other infrastructure to cater to the needs of four faculties. At least five acres of land are required to build up the physical infrastructure for a medical faculty. This extent of additional land is not available in the main campus. Medical faculties are always established in close proximity to a Teaching Hospital for easy access of the students for clinical studies and to have close interaction with the medical staff of the Teaching Hospital. This is the situation in all other medical faculties in Sri Lanka and elsewhere. A professorial unit in the Teaching Hospital greatly helps medical students to attend to patients under intensive, special and emergency care. If the Medical Faculty is sited at Vantharumoolai, the students as well as the visiting staff from the Teaching Hospital will have to travel 40 km up and down daily.

This is not only time and energy consuming, but also will seriously affect the study programme of the students. Apart from this, the medical staff from the Teaching Hospital may find it difficult to spend their time and energy in travelling a long distance to conduct few hours of lectures at Vantharumooai.

Considering these basic aspects, the Eastern University, Council and the University Grants Commission must consider establishing infrastructure of the Medical Faculty in close proximity to the Batticaloa Teaching Hospital.
- Sri Lanka Guardian