The Department of Adult and Higher Education (DAHE) under the Education Ministry is planning to send Bhutanese medical students back to their universities in Sri Lanka. The students returned to the country following continuous strike in Sri Lanka since January this year.
The strike started as a protest by doctors and students, requesting the government to shut down the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM), which is the only private university in Sri Lanka. As a result classes of some 120 Bhutanese medical students in Sri Lanka were disrupted for over nine months now. However, classes for local students have resumed from November 20.
“The strike has ended but we will have to see the situation carefully because it is a very tricky situation. If classes go as normal, then we have to advise our students to go back,” said Dolay Tshering, Senior Programme Officer of DAHE.
He said a batch of students who have exams towards the end of November have already left for the college. He also said the placement for the next batch of students is complete, and 16 students are placed in Sri Lanka for their medical studies.
