The Sri Lanka Medical Council's (SLMC) decision to remove three prominent Russian State Universities from the SLMC Approved List without prior information, has caused much concernin Russia, the Cultural Section of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Sri Lanka said.
In a statement, it said the People's Friendship University of Russia (formerly known as Patrice Lumumba University), Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University and Tver State Medical University have been removed from the SLMC's Approved List
“The three universities have been removed 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 were made by the universities in order to maintain the membership, to the SLMC ,” it said.
It said, with a history of over 60 years of diplomatic relations between the countries, Russia has been awarding Sri Lanka with scholarships to State Universities for Sri Lankan students to pursue their higher education, resulting in the production of numerous notable professionals in the country, especially in the medical field.
“The cultural section of the Russian Embassy hopes that the SLMC decision will not influence the practice 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 in prominent Russian universities,” the statement said.
(Daily Mirror)