The decision of a case filed before the Supreme Court regarding the denial of admission to a medical faculty in Sri Lanka by a student who had studied an examination equivalent to Sri Lanka’s Advanced Level examination in Russia was announced yesterday.
A student residing in Borella had filed this petition.
The student had stated in his petition that the examination he had appeared for in Russia was equivalent to the Sri Lankan G.C.E. Advanced Level examination and that his fundamental human rights had been violated by not allowing him to enter a medical faculty in Sri Lanka based on its results.
The Supreme Court, which ruled that the Sri Lankan student had violated one of his fundamental human rights by refusing to admit him to a medical faculty in Sri Lanka, also gave its decision yesterday, ordering that the student be immediately admitted to the medical faculty of a university in Sri Lanka.
It is reported that this decision was announced by Supreme Court Justice Arjuna Obeysekara with the concurrence of Justices Janak de Silva and Sobitha Rajakaruna.
The petitioner claims that he passed the G.C.E. Ordinary Level from a leading college in Colombo.
He has pointed out in his petition that after his father got a post at the Sri Lankan Embassy in Russia, he also left for Russia and passed the Senior School Certificate Examination from a school where Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi students study, which is equivalent to the G.C.E. Advanced Level examination in this country.
He then submitted an application for admission to the medical faculties of government universities in this country through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and he says that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected the application stating that he did not meet the relevant criteria.
He has also stated in his petition that his fundamental human rights have been violated in this way.
Announcing the verdict, the judge stated that considering the facts presented, the petitioner has qualified under the relevant criteria for admission to the medical faculty of a state university.
Pointing out that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has no power to intervene in this matter, the bench of judges stated that the decision taken by the Ministry to reject the petitioner’s relevant application is contrary to the law.
The Supreme Court bench, which ruled that the petitioner’s fundamental human rights have been violated in this way, ordered the Universities Commission to take steps to admit the petitioner to the medical faculty of a university in this country.