The initiatives of Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) to pressurize the private college managements to ensure All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) prescribed scale of salary to all the teachers are meeting with stiff resistance as several institutions have questioned the rights of PCI to enforce such a decision. The institutions have also approached the courts and obtained stay against the PCI instruction, it is learnt.

According to the Association of Pharmacy Teachers of India (APTI), the PCI should approach the Supreme Court and take on the cases that are pending in several High Courts at one go. They feel that the PCI had a role in solving the genuine issues of the pharmacy teachers of the country.

Among the estimated 5,000 pharmacy teachers, only a minority is enjoying the AICTE pay scales. Though repeated attempts of the PCI had made some colleges fall in line, a good number are still finding ways to circumvent the AICTE stipulation. The APTI appeal to the PCI comes in this backdrop.

Commenting on the issue, Dr B Suresh, president PCI said that the council is yet to take a decision on how to tackle the issue of low salaries to pharmacy teachers. "We will certainly seek the legal opinion. However, we havent decided whether to approach the SC at this stage," he said.

Dr Suresh points out that for grooming quality pharma professionals, quality education needs to be imparted by highly qualified and talented teachers. If the pay is low, its the institutions that are going to suffer due to loss of good teachers, he said. He assured that the PCI would continue to insist that the institutions should go by AICTE pay scale for all its teachers. "We are looking at a different mechanism where we can ensure high quality education. All the issues would be tackled when we have such a mechanism in place," he hoped.