AICTE confusion:pharma colleges demand single regulatory body
HYDERABAD:The All India Council of Technical Education’s Approval Process Handbook 2018-19, seems to have created more confusion than clarity for pharmacy colleges.The Telangana Pharmacy Colleges Management Association (TPCMA) has alleged that AICTE is overshadowing Pharmacy Council of India’s regulations over the B Pharma, M Pharma, Pharma D and PB courses by giving its own set of regulations, which it says are impractical. In the statement issued by the TPCMA, it said, “We..are facing very severe hardships from affiliating universities and concerned Government Orders as they are insisting to comply both AICTE and PCI norms which are contradicting to one another.”
The Association has asked the PCI to intervene and initiate a dialogue with the AICTE for common regulations. The Pharma D course, for instance, follows the Pharmacy Regulations 2008 introduced by PCI but the AICTE, in its handbook, has asked colleges to approach AICTE for approval. Further the management association has demanded for the exclusion of the course from AICTE on grounds that it is a purely clinical and hospital-based therapeutic subject.
TV Narayana, president of All India Pharmacy Colleges Management Association said, “The process is creating too many conflicting issues with AICTE and PCI and thus taking a toll on the colleges due to confused policies. There is a need for an apex body which has the right direction to control and monitor the pharmacy education research and practices in the country.”
Pharmacy colleges have also raised objection to the 1:5 faculty student which they said said will create tremendous pressure on the college and push them into financial hardships. “Like engineering there should be 1:20 student faculty ratio for pharmacy too. Also, for subjects like maths, english, computer science, human ethics and statistics, the ratio should be fixed at 1:20,” said Dr K Ram Das, president of the TPCMA.