Number of colleges offering Pharm.D in India to increase

PCI is making efforts to increase the number of colleges offering Pharm D to 60 from this academic year in August 2010-2011.

Currently 40 colleges in Five states Pharm.D in India.
Inspections are done at 15 more colleges.

More details at the following links:
Details of Pharm.D Colleges in India
Pharm.D in Karnataka
Pharm.D in Tamilnadu
Pharm.D in Andhra Pradesh
Pharm.D in Maharastra and Madhya Pradesh

MS Pharmacy students planning to seek legal intervention

With the PCI firm on not approving the MS program for registration with Pharmacy council for the practice of Pharmacy, the NIPER administration has seeked the support of AICTE since PCI does not regulate the post graduate education.

With things uncertain, a large number of students who pursued/pursuing this course are in crossroads thinking about the profession to teach. Now the students are planning to take this issue to the Supreme court and ask for a legal intervention.
We got to wait and

PCI does not recognize: MS programme in Industrial Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Analysis & Quality Control

Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) chairman Dr B Suresh has justified the Council’s decision not to recognize the MS programme in Industrial Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Analysis & Quality Control being conducted by premier institutions including NIPERs in the country on the ground that there is no mandatory infrastructure in these institutions to conduct the MS programmes.

“We don’t know the content and the structure of the course being conducted by these public as well as private institutes. There is no proper infrastructure available in these institutions for conducting a prestigious programme like MS. In Hyderabad NIPER, they have admitted 60-70 students for the MS programme with just two teachers. The situation in Guwahati NIPER is also not different as they have also admitted 60-70 students for MS programme with some visiting faculty alone. Only name of NIPER cannot ensure quality of education”, Dr Suresh said.

The PCI chairman regretted that it is the exploitation of the gullible students who don't know the fact that the MS programme is not recognised by the PCI for pursuing pharmacy teaching profession in the country. But, the course is being run by the NIPERs where the teachers know everything. They are doing this just for money. If government institutions can resort to this kind of practice, what to say about private institutions, he asked.

He said that there is simply no reason why the students who aspire to become pharmacy teachers should join MS programme conducted by these institutes when M.Pharm seats are easily available in other prestigious pharmacy colleges in the country. Many students even do not know that the MS programmes conducted by these institutes are not recognised by the PCI. “So, it was our duty in the interest of the student community to bring to their notice that the MS degree is not recognized by the PCI for teaching purposes. That is why we have announced it in our website”, he said.

Though these students cannot become pharmacy teachers, there are several other avenues for them to pursue in their career in the industry, Dr Suresh said. There are several degrees in medicine, like MRCP, etc which are not recognized by MCI for teaching, but even then doctors go abroad and take the degrees and start practising here, he added.

Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) constituted Woking Group suggest ways to take pharma education to international standards

Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) has constituted a Woking Group comprising of experts in pharma education to suggest ways and means to improve the educational system in India. The step is expected to help it become part of the Global Framework of Pharma Education of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), a 120-member global body of national associations of pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists.

Once India becomes part of FIP's global framework, it will be a big boost to the pharma education in the country as the students passing out of the Indian pharma educational institutions will get equal status in all the member countries of the FIP. The educational qualifications of Indian institutions will be recognised in all the member countries of the FIP. There will be huge increase in the job opportunities for the pharma students in the country.
PCI vice-president PP Sharma is heading the Working Group. Other members of the Group are Dr SY Gave, Dr Parthasarathy, Dr Ravi and M Venkat Reddy. The Group will submit its findings to the PCI within two to three months, sources said.

Recognising the need to support and strengthen pharmacy education worldwide, FIP, along with WHO and UNESCO, formed the Pharmacy Education Taskforce. The Taskforce is a coordinating body of organisations, agencies, institutions, and individuals with the shared goal of catalysing actions to develop pharmacy education in the world.

The purpose of the Taskforce is to oversee the implementation of the Pharmacy Education Taskforce Action Plan 2008-2010. The Action Plan aims to enable the sustainability of a pharmacy workforce that is relevant to local needs. The Action Plan is dedicated to three domains of action: quality assurance, academic and institutional capacity, and competency and vision for pharmacy education.

For becoming part of the FIP global framework, Indian pharma education should be of international standard. The newly formed Working Group will find ways and means in this regard.

FIP's priorities have expanded both literally and figuratively to meet the needs and expectations of the profession in expanding healthcare services and integrating emerging scientific developments. Changes in pharmacy and the emergence of Pharmacy Practice as a cornerstone of the profession have led FIP to become globally visible for its advocacy on behalf of the role of the pharmacist in providing healthcare, while still maintaining its grounding in the pharmaceutical sciences.

Through the work of various individuals, working groups and taskforces, FIP initiates and implements numerous projects and programmes that are making a significant impact within global pharmacy practice, pharmaceutical sciences and community health.

Source: Pharmabiz

No proper faculty in many Pharmacy colleges in India

A recent press article stated that the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) will soon take strict action, including cancellation of admission process, against the pharmacy colleges which have been found flouting rules and regulations and are running without proper faculty.

It was noted that the PCI has found several pharmacy colleges violating rules to run their institutions through the surprise inspections on pharmacy colleges which the PCI had started last year to pin down the institutions that are running without proper faculty,.

Major observation during these surprise inspections is that many colleges do not have proper faculty and this issue has been referred to the PCI's legal department for vetting and once the legal department clears the files, the PCI will initiate strict action, including suspension of admission process, against such institutions.

Many Pharmacy colleges in the country set up a team of Faculty during the time of inspection and do not really have enough faculty as prescribed by the PCI. I have seen so many colleges call up their old students (the staffs call up their friends) and arrange the required staff on the day of college inspection

This kind of malpractices will definitely affect the quality of the Pharmacy education and it is time that the educational institutions realize their responsibility to provide quality education. One reason for this shortage of Faculty is low salary scale and by increasing the Pay scale of Pharmacy Faculties, these educational institutions can attract more people to take up Teaching profession.

Hope the stakeholders do something about this and help the Pharmacy Education standard in the country rise up.