The Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) has expressed its displeasure over the alleged highhandedness of All Indian Council for Technical Education (AICTE) in taking decisions related to pharmacy education. The PCI has sought central intervention to sort out the differences between the two councils at the HRD ministry level and has indicated that further delay may compel PCI to recommend improvements in the existing Act to strengthen its role in regulating pharmacy education in the country.

The PCI missive shows the failure of the compromise formula that was mutually accepted by both the councils some time back. The understanding was to make PCI president permanent chairman of Pharmacy Board in AICTE and include three PCI members in the Pharmacy Board, which clears all proposals for new pharmacy colleges.

Confirming the development, Dr B Suresh, president PCI said that the compromise formula has only remained in paper where as AICTE continues to take "suo moto" decisions. "We have asked the government to take up the issue with the HRD ministry. Or else we will come up with improvements in the Act," he said.

Lack of co-ordination and overlapping mandate for regulating pharmacy education had been a matter of debate for years now. It was about two years ago, the councils worked out a compromise formula which said that all applications for fresh pharmacy colleges would reach the Pharmacy Board after the preliminary screening at the regional level for final approval. Since it was AICTE, which took independent decisions related to recognition of new pharmacy colleges for years, the inclusion of PCI members was meant to buy peace. With PCI once again complaining to the government, the issue is likely to hot up in the coming days.