GMOA’s privileges antics

The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) locked horns with the government again, when a group of doctors occupied the Education Ministry premises demanding a meeting with the minister. The doctors, who received recent transfers, said their children had not been given a chance to get admission to a ‘good school’.

The minister said their demands were unreasonable on the grounds that some doctors who received service transfers within the same district, had asked for popular schools for their children. The Minister said in no uncertain terms that it would be unfair by other professionals and their children. On that basis, the Minister did not want to have a meeting with the doctors who occupied the education ministry. They were later removed from the ministry premises following an order issued by the Kaduwela Magistrate.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe responding to the matter, made it clear that the government did not want to give ‘special privileges’ to certain professions over others.

“We do not recognize individuals to be more privileged than others, nor do we recognize a certain career path to be more important than another,” the Prime minister said in a statement posted on his official Facebook page, on Thursday afternoon.

“But what we do recognize is that our priority is towards the citizens of this nation, and we will continue to strive towards the provision of the best service so as to address and resolve problems faced in professions, and to achieve equal rights and opportunities in every career path,” he added.

The statement came after doctors launched a token strike in three districts, demanding popular schools for their children.

The Sunday Observer is in possession of a list of the schools the doctors affiliated to the GMOA have demanded for their children, based on their service transfers.

The list showed very clearly how the transferred doctors are requesting popular schools for their children, outside their education zone.

As indicated in the documents, doctors S.D. Rupasinge and H.H Caldera who were transferred from Homagama to Maharagama have asked that Ananda College in Colombo 10 be provided as school for their sons. Doctors S.P.C. Niroshan who was transferred from Maharagama to Homagama and S.W.N Keerthi who was transferred from Homagama to Wathupitiwala have asked for Nalanda College, Colombo 10. The lists reproduced below indicate further the manner in which the doctors affiliated to the GMOA have attempted to blackmail the government to admit their children to popular schools in Colombo, citing their transfers as reason for this allowance.