फ़ार्मेसी काउंसिल ऑफ़ इंडिया के मंज़ूरी की वजह से हुए दरी के कारण हज़ारों इच्छुक फ़ार्मासिस्टों हुए प्रभावित

Thousands of aspiring pharmacists affected due to delay in approval by Pharmacy Council of India

The Common Entrance Test Cell has not released the admission schedule for pharmacy colleges in the state even after more than four months of the declaration of class 12 and CET results. The delay in approval given to colleges by the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) has affected thousands of aspiring pharmacists and forced colleges to decide on a shorter academic year. "This delay is detrimental to both students and colleges. We are requesting the government to start admissions as soon as possible," said Dr Milind Umekar, president of the Association for Pharmaceutical Teachers of India (APTI). The association has urged the CET cell to start the admission process for colleges and courses that have already received approval, he said. While delays in admissions due to PCI's annual approvals have been a common occurrence in recent years, in August the state's higher and technical education department wrote to the council, stressing its detrimental impact on academic sessions.

In its letter, the department urged the regulator to expedite approvals for both new and existing programmes. No student has yet been admitted to pharmacy programmes in the state, be it at the diploma, bachelor's or master's level. The delay is particularly evident when compared to other professional courses such as engineering and management, for which the admission process is almost over. The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), which oversees engineering and management colleges, has extended the last date for completing admissions by 5 pm. The PCI, on the other hand, has extended the deadline for granting approval to colleges and courses till November 30. In its communication with the PCI, the state government has highlighted that the academic year, which usually begins in July and ends in May/June, is now in danger.

Students may miss out on crucial courses for several months. The delay will particularly impact degree programmes, which follow a semester pattern, said an official from the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE). Diploma courses may be less affected due to their annual structure, the official said. Moreover, the state lacks consolidated information on how many new and ongoing pharmacy courses have received approval as the PCI does not have a centralised information management system (IMS). Some pharmacy institutes have also filed petitions challenging the need for annual approval, advocating a one-time approval system instead. The CET cell has started the registration process for pharmacy colleges on its portal, although the admission process has been put on hold until approval is granted