Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2019-05-21

Implementation of the Second and the Third Stage of the Project for the Construction of the Medical Faculty of Sabaragamuwa University

- Although around 25,000 students following the Advanced Level of the Bio-Science Stream gain eligibility for the University entrance annually, opportunities are available only for 1,484 students to study medicine in accordance with the facilities available at the State Universities of this country. When converting Sri Lanka as a upper middle income country, her health status should be enhanced concurrently and as such, the ratio of 89.5 doctors for 100,000 of population existing at present, has to be further increased. Therefore, the focus of the Government has been drawn to establish new medical faculties within the State Universities of this country, for the purpose of achieving the targets. As a first step towards this end, a medical faculty was established in the Sabaragamuwa University. Under the second Stage of this construction project, it has been planned to establish an administrative building, a library, a pre-clinical building, student hostels, quarters and a professional unit, to purchase other infrastructure facilities, medical, laboratory and office equipment and machines and also to carry out training for the staff. Accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. Rauff Hakeem, the Minister of City Planning, Water Supply and Higher Education for the implementation of the second stage of this project, by a loan obtained from the Saudi Fund for Development within the time frame of 2020 - 2021, was approved by the Cabinet.