Allied Health Science Graduates In A Dilemma Over Controversial Recruitment Test

Protest held by Allied Health Science Graduates on Thursday (24) voicing concerns on the controversial recruitment test. (Pics courtesy - Allied Health Science Graduates Unity)

Allied Health Sciences Graduates have to go through an 8-year delay before being recruited to the health sector

Allied Health Sciences degree programmes that include: physiotherapy, laboratory sciences, pharmaceutical science, radiography and nursing

A couple of the complaints from the GPOA include: A proficient Salary Structure which is not in place, a Lack of a robust recruitment process and Proposals submitted to the Public Service Commission in 2018 being ignored

The Government Physiotherapy Officers’ Association (GPOA) recently opposed the double standards maintained by the Health Ministry when recruiting Allied Health Science graduates into the state healthcare sector.

Allied Health Sciences were introduced to state universities in 2005/2006 with degree programmes on physiotherapy, laboratory sciences, pharmaceutical science, radiography and nursing. However, graduates who specialised in Allied Health Sciences were recruited to the health sector after a lapse of eight years. The lack of a proper mechanism to recruit allied health science graduates worsened the crisis. A proper salary structure or recruiting mechanism wasn’t established either. However, following recommendations submitted by the GPOA and related medical trade unions, the Health Ministry submitted its proposals to the Public Service Commission in 2018. Here, it was clearly mentioned that priority should be given to graduates from state universities. But GPOA members claim that so far, health ministry officials have neither accepted, rejected, nor clarified their stance with regard to these proposals. 

In another instance, an agreement was reached to recruit allied health science graduates based on the merit order issued to state universities by the University Grants Commission (UGC). This suggestion came about as a result of discussions held between trade unions, graduates and health ministry officials. Thereafter, the UGC had prepared the merit order list for allied health science graduates and submitted it to the Health Ministry. However, the matter had not been resolved, and according to the GPOA, the Health Ministry has reiterated that graduates would have to sit for a general knowledge and aptitude test as part of the recruiting process based on existing provisions. As such, preparations are underway to schedule this examination on April 27, 2025. But GPOA members argue that this is an unscientific method to recruit highly qualified graduates into the state healthcare sector. 

“Around 60 graduates who specialise in physiotherapy pass out from the Colombo University Medical Faculty and the faculty of Allied Health Sciences at the Peradeniya University annually,” said GPOA Secretary Adikari Indika during a press briefing held on Wednesday (23). “They are indeed an asset to the country’s health sector. They pursue a four-year honourary degree in addition to a hospital-based clinical training and practical training as well. Therefore, they have a wealth of knowledge regarding the field of physiotherapy. These graduates have obtained a high Z-score in their A/L exams. But once they pass out of university, there’s a crisis in recruiting them to the state health sector. At present, the health ministry is planning to add a general knowledge and an aptitude test in order to recruit these graduates into the health sector. This means the four-year degree holder would be recruited using a simple mechanism by testing their general knowledge about the country’s highest mountain, longest river etc,” he added. 

Indika further claimed that physiotherapy officers haven’t been recruited to the state health sector over the past two years, and there is a shortage of healthcare workers islandwide. “Some hospitals that need to have treatment sessions twice a week have now scheduled them as bi-weekly sessions due to this shortage of staff, including physiotherapists. Some hospitals have been forced to close down physiotherapy clinics. In some hospitals, there are 13 physiotherapists instead of 20 and in other hospitals, there are 70 physiotherapists instead of a full cadre of 113. Annually, more vacancies are created due to skill migration and the retirement of senior physiotherapists. So on the one hand, there are more vacancies to be filled while on the other hand, there are more graduates awaiting employment,” he said. 

He further said that former Health Minister Ramesh Pathirana had made a proposal to recruit graduates based on their Grade Point Average (GPA) value and merit order. The University Grants Commission and Public Service Commission were consulted on this proposal and it was to be facilitated under the guidance of the then Health Secretary, Dr. Palitha Mahipala. “However, we learned that the Public Service Commission has proposed to conduct an examination in order to recruit graduates. So we doubt what sort of recommendations the health ministry had made in this regard. These graduates ultimately have to take to the streets. Last month, a satyagraha was held in front of the health ministry, and eventually, the graduates were tear-gassed while 27 of them were arrested. We cannot accept the fact that a healthcare worker should be tested on his or her general knowledge or be given an aptitude test in order to determine their suitability to contribute to the healthcare sector. We recommend that they recruit suitable graduates based on their performance in university, the merit order and other criteria. Physiotherapy graduates should be recruited based on merit order, similarly to how doctors, dentists and veterinarians are being recruited into the workforce. We urge the government to prevent this kind of discrimination towards skilled graduates. If we don’t receive a favourable response, we may have to opt for trade union action,” Indika warned. 

Physiotherapy is a field which is in high demand the world over. It is an essential component in almost all medical ailments. In his remarks, GPOA Executive member Rovin Jansz stressed on the fact that these graduates have already passed a general knowledge examination while in school. “They have obtained top grades in the bio stream as well. Forcing them to face another general knowledge examination is a laughable fact. The UGC already has a merit order and many other health professionals are being recruited via this mechanism. But the mechanism to recruit a physiotherapist after pursuing a four-year honourary degree is extremely primitive,” he claimed. 

When asked about the existing cadre of physiotherapists in the country, Indika further said that according to health ministry statistics, there is a cadre of 190 physiotherapists. But he said that the actual number is not known. “We know that there was a cadre of 84 physiotherapists, but there had been no recruitments since 2021. Therefore, it is clear that more vacancies are now open,” he added.

GPOA members further said that cadre positions need to be updated. Delays in treatment schedules and other lapses need to be assessed to determine the actual number of physiotherapists that are needed to fulfil the demand. They also raised concerns on the fact that a huge number of graduates who had passed out during 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 from state universities are awaiting employment opportunities within the state healthcare sector.

Pics by Samantha Perera