Leaning through Macro Environmental Perspectives: case Issues of SAITM.

Abstract

Sri Lanka’s tertiary-level student population is quite mobile – in part because higher education in Sri Lanka has insufficient capacity to address student demand. This can be identified as problem. As solution, Sri Lanka’s government promotes this interest in study abroad and especially government support for an increase in the number of private higher education providers in the country may alleviate capacity issues and impede that growth at least somewhat. SAITM has been established as a private campus in Sri Lanka to teach Medicine, Engineering, ICT and Media and Business Management. Also, this is the first time that the private sector has been able to enter the field of higher education in Medicine in Sri Lanka. However its final analysis may be that it is an essential feature of democracy. But it is necessary to re analyze and revisit the particular issue, subject to such discussion in the country, to ascertain whether it is the ‘Real’ problem, which should be focused on. I hope to discuss this ‘Real Problem’ through the issue at hand, namely, the Private Medical College problem, or the SAITM issue. The SAITM issue has come to the forefront in the media, just as much as the Ragama Medical College issue which came under discussion a decades ago. One group expresses its view in its favor, while the other group speaks against it. It is unfortunate that these speakers focus on the symptoms of the ailment without making an effort to find out the cause. SAITM of the intention is to produce educated young men and women with good motives by the name of SAITM. They aim to provide affordable higher education opportunities to many prospective students. One of the greatest challenges that a business faces is to figure out how to balance burgeoning human activity with the processes and resources of the natural world in a way that will sustain the health and well being of our planet in the longer term. With surging populations and rapid economic development across the globe, we are beginning to see limits on the ability of the earth to handle the demands we place upon it. There is no point in allowing the SAITM issue to continue for so long without a solution. The government or the country should be able to resolve such problems within a reasonable time. In the meanwhile, the government has come up with varies Point Proposal to the situation. From the look of them, they fall far short of the ‘demands,’ the other expert proposals or the key issues of the controversy. As reported in The Island lead article (“SAITM Crisis Takes New Turn,” 4 May), they are as follows. Frankly speaking, the first and the key proposal of “Listing of SAITM in the Colombo Stock Exchange” is like ‘Koheda Yanne, Malle Pol’ (Where are you going? Coconuts are in the basket!). This is not to say that resolving such a problem is easy. But most difficulties are related to the present; the confrontation seems to be mainly the government, or certain sections of the government, and the GMOA (General Medical Officers Association), although there are several other stake holders. SAITM seems to have taken a back seat, tactfully or not, and their medical students have become the main victims of the situation. Learned people and others from different walks of life express their views based on the way such topics are highlighted in the Media. It is just because the SLMC decreed that the clinical training provided by PMC is not sufficient to be qualified for SLMC recognition. This is where the problem is and now we can get to the crux of the issue. People start talking about the quality when they seek medical care and that is the basic need of patients and consumer behavior. This is main social and cultural issues for SAITM. It is a vast field that has even created tens of thousands of job opportunities around the globe. Not to boast about Medicine but it is a well-known science in the world that has it’s own largest discipline for its educationists. If we explore Sri Lanka’s culture through the lens of the 6-D Model, we can get a good overview of the deep drivers of the culture of Sri Lanka relative to other cultures of the world. Power Distance deals with the fact that all individuals in societies are not equal. It expresses the attitude of the culture towards these inequalities amongst us. In Individualist societies people are supposed to look after themselves and their direct family only. In Collectivist society’s people belong to ‘in groups’ that take care of them in exchange for loyalty. The next determinant is income inequity which is an ever growing issue since 1948. People increasingly tend to think that bridging this gap isn’t a tough task as far as they have a cling to a corrupt politician.Power Distance dimension deals with the fact that all individuals in societies are not equal. It expresses the attitude of the culture towards these inequalities amongst us. Power Distance is defined as the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. With a slightly high score of 80%, Sri Lanka is a relatively hierarchical society. This means that people accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has a place and which needs no further justification. Hierarchy in an organization is seen as reflecting inherent inequalities, centralization is popular, subordinates expect to be told what to do and the ideal boss is a benevolent autocrat. The shift of the focus of education has changed in terms of the structural adjustments in policies of the IMF, and the World Bank, and other international lending organizations for underdeveloped and low-income countries. These organizations push their hidden agenda, such as cuts in government expenditures, market liberalization, currency devaluations, reductions of government subsidies, price controls, and most importantly the privatization of public services such as health and education. This level can be identified as opportunities for SAITM. SAITM has more external threats for their business so they should develop an appropriate business model to face this critical issue. Now, they face high risk, sometimes they can earn high return in future according to high return high risk theory. It has been impossible to find a possible solution as the key question can be identified – ‘Can the Medical Education be provided by the Private Sector? It has not yet been understood. Hence it is too vital to understand the key issues and search for a possible solution immediately. We should dedicate to find the answer even though it is not visible. The efforts by SAITM may be considered admirable. But the efforts have failed. Singapore, the epitome of Asian capitalism doesn’t have a Private Medical College (Duke-National University of Singapore is a semi government graduate medical school largely funded by the government and attached to NUS). Therefore, the suggestion here to solve this issue is to join with the government and do the business as semi government business, medical faculty strongly control by the government.