was not impressed with what it saw. The facilities at the laboratory were sub-standard. The college had only 10 faculty members as against the required strength of 26.
The college was seeking affiliation to be able to start a doctorate programme in pharmacy, but lacked the resources that would qualify it for suchThe afore-mentioned case is by no means singular. Following the slowdown in engineering admissions and stringent rules imposed by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) on engineering education, there has been a proliferation of pharmacy colleges and many of them fall short of required standards.
For the management at many engineering colleges, starting a pharmacy college seems to be an easy way out of the crisis.
Regulating the numbers
“In 2010, there were 800-900 pharmacy colleges. Over the last five years, due to a drop in engineering admissions, the number of pharmacy colleges has been increasing,” says K.G. Revikumar, former professor and head of Clinical Pharmacy, Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram.
As per the AICTE website, there are around 1,600 institutes across the country offering pharmacy courses. With 438 pharmacy colleges, Maharashatra tops the table and is followed by Uttar Pradesh (170), Telangana (151), and Andhra Pradesh (142).
Many of these pharmacy colleges don’t last the course. In Telangana, for instance, there were 177 pharmacy colleges in 2012-13. According to 2017-18 figures, there are only 151 in the state.
There is however a scarcity amidst this artificial and unhealthy plenty. The northeastern states of Nagaland and Mizoram have only one pharmacy college each. The number of pharmacy colleges in Delhi, Jharkhand, Bihar, and Chandigarh is in single digit.
Academicians demand that the process of approvals to start pharmacy colleges be made more stringent and want an even distribution across the country. Last year, at a ‘Stakeholders Workshop for Discussion on AICTE Approval Process for 2018-19’, members sought a moratorium on grant of approvals for new pharmacy colleges.
Anil D. Sahasrabudhe, AICTE chairman, says that unless strict regulations are brought in now, pharmacy colleges will face the same fate as engineering colleges. “Now, seats in pharmacy colleges get filled up, but five years down the line the situation may change. We have asked all state governments to come up with a study to regulate the growth of pharmacy colleges and offer suggestions. On our part, we are coming up with a robust 10-year plan for all technical courses,” says Anil.
Academicians fear the proliferation of pharmacy colleges will lead to unemployment for many graduating students and also affect the quality of education.
Demand for Pharma D
Pharmacy education is regulated by both AICTE and the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI). “Only in December did the Pharma D course get AICTE approval. This is a six-year doctor-in-pharmacy programme and there is considerable demand for it in India and outside the country. So, many more pharmacy colleges will want to offer this course. And students must do their homework before enrolling in such a programme,” says V. Madhavan, Dean, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bengaluru.
Professor Revikumar also believes many more colleges will want to offer Pharma D, and it is up to the regulatory bodies to ensure that only those meeting required standards get to do so.
Besides qualified teachers and good infrastructure, AICTE mandates that institutions starting Pharma D programmes be located close to a hospital, so that students get hands-on experience.
Academicians suggest that surprise inspections aimed at ascertaining the quality of infrastructure and faculty, and study of campus placement records should be carried out.
“This has to be done in the interest of students, as industries visit colleges for campus interviews only after ascertaining the standards maintained at these institutions,” says professor Madhavan.
Check-list
Before you enrol in a pharmacy college, look out for these:
Check if the college is recognised by both PCI (www.pci.nic.in) and AICTE (https://www.aicte-india.org)
Ask for the college’s placement record
Take a tour of the college, especially its laboratory to see if it really has what it promises