Discrimination and arbitrary admission to the University.

Discrimination and arbitrary admission to the University.

If I remember right we were the last batch of students who were selected on merit basis.
This discriminatory admission procedure was enacted from ? Around 1970s or so (Sirima and NM
regime) one Minister Mathhew was an architect in the 1965 UNP government.

I stand to correction of the statement “that was the last year admission to the university was on purely merit basis”.
No area basis but national level before then.
I must also state majority were Tamils from the North, almost no Muslims.
Our batch had 16 Sinhala students out of 75 students (and I am not sure of Colombo). 

The rest were Tamils students.
This was the beginning of discrimination on merit and race and within few years LTTE took a root in Ceylon.

All my batch mates except a few (handful and some already dead left in this country) went out and most of them are holding substantial posts or mostly retired now.

It was the last list published on local paper according to the marks obtained by the individual students.
Cut off point was around 240 marks (an average nearing 60 out of 100) or above and a very few achieved it.
If that mark was not achieved the list of students entered would not have filled all the vacancies in Colombo and Peradeniya.

There was a Bench Mark for admission to Engineering and Medical Faculties.
Peradeniya was the First Medical Faculty and Colombo was called a Medical Collage (just similar to Law College) and later registered as a Faculty (I stand to correction if there is an error in this statement).

In good old days entry to Medical College in Colombo was very biased and led to nepotism.
Lot of anecdotes in our ears then, mentioning them is inappropriate.
There was a big rivalry (not medical students) of the academics.
Even in the University the names were listed according to marks.

The above comments are redundant but the crux of the matter is lowering of the standard of students entering the University.

This is unscientific and human rights violation.

I am surprised why nobody has taken a legal challenge to this piece of discrimination in admission.

I believe they spend that money to send them abroad or do better things.

I believe as a teacher each University should hold an University Entrance (Like in USA) Examination or Premed to absorb the best students.

Unless we do that Quality of Universities and their Educational standards will fall.

Just recently in Korea and Hongkong, common US Examination was aborted fearing leaking of papers.

Examinations are not foolproof if shoddy guys conduct it.

That is the very reason, I say each University should have its Bench Marks for admission based on an independent supervidory comittee.

Worse scenario is that fee paying independent universities would violate this principle of "best get admitted" and have back door for admission.

This has happened in our parliament and legislature only the worst (thugs, rapists, criminals, underworld guys and girls without paper qualification) guys and are selected by the party heads.

There is no vetting system.

There is caveat here best academic results does not produce best or human doctors.

This is an observed phenomenon and Sri-Lankan doctors are a good example inhumane practices.

Human qualities cannot be inculcated (or duplicated) by a curriculum alone one has to be born with it.

I threatened to rank (malpractices) them when I was in Private Sector in Colombo.

I have seen many incorrigible guys ad girls in this country and abroad.

The bottom line is quality of doctors progressively declining and money matters taking precedence.

That is why I am for proper salary (lowest in this part of the world) and no private practice while on government or University service.

We had to go on industrial action (only strike under Ma Ra Regime).

Unless we treat intellectual with dignity “Brain Drain” will continue.

Only reason it dipped recently was our English Standard took a nose dive under SLFP. 

Inherited Past by Carlo Fonseka
In 1981, with political patronage at presidential level, the first Private Medical College in this country in the 20th century, namely the North Colombo Medical College (NCMC), came into existence. It was a fee-levying institute purportedly catering mainly to high achieving students who had failed to gain admission in open competition to any state medical faculty due to the implementation of the government’s policy of "positive discrimination" and "affirmative action" in regard to the admission of students to universities. Based exclusively on the GCE (A/L) results of each year, 40% of admissions to medical faculties was on the basis of all-island merit; 55% on a district quota basis; and 5% reserved for certain underprivileged districts. One outcome of the application of this policy was that a proportion of students with lower grades at the GCE (A/L) examination gained admission to the state medical faculties to the exclusion of students with higher grades. To render justice to high academic achievers manifestly discriminated against by the scheme of admission to medical faculties was the ostensible purpose of the NCMC. The rub was, however, that the ability to pay for gaining admission was the price exacted from both the minority of high-achieving deserving students and the majority of barely qualified undeserving ones.