Even as the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is learnt to be showing not much interest in conducting the graduate aptitude test for engineering (GATE) examination for pharmacy students as was directed by National co-ordination Board for GATE, the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) has come forward to conducting the exam in the interest of thousands of pharmacy students.

The PCI has recently made a representation in this regard to the Union Human Resources Development (HRD) Ministry. The PCI has informed the HRD ministry about its willingness to conduct the GATE exam for the interest of around 50,000 pharmacy graduates in the country. The GATE exams hold much significance for the pharmacy graduates, as it would have brought them both recognition and the necessary funds for higher studies. The winners of the GATE exam will be eligible for the HRD ministry's scholarships for higher studies which ranges from Rs 7000 to 8000 per month.

“If the HRD ministry gives us the mandate, we will conduct the GATE exam for the pharmacy graduates without any delay. We are well prepared for conducting the exam,” PCI chairman Dr B Suresh said.

PCI's initiative in this regard comes in the backdrop of the lackadaisical attitude of AICTE in conducting the exam for pharmacy graduates. Sources said that the AICTE is not keen in conducting the exam.

Earlier, the National co-ordination Board (NCB) for GATE, which conducts the nationwide prestigious GATE exams every year, in its 35th meeting held on November 23 at Guwahati had decided that examination for PY paper would be conducted along with the JAM 2010 examination. The NCB had made the AICTE responsible for conducting the examination and also asked the AICTE to handle setting of question papers, evaluating answer scripts, declaring results and all other aspects.

The next GATE exams are scheduled for February 12, 2010 in which graduates from all engineering disciplines, except pharmacy graduates, are qualified to participate. So far, all the B Pharm students were also eligible to participate in these exams. They were denied this opportunity to appear for the prestigious exams as the NCB decided to exclude the pharmacy education from the purview of this examination from next year on the specious plea that the board does not have pharmacy teachers to prepare the question papers.

The implication of this rather unprecedented decision of the NCB will be serious as it will directly and adversely affect the higher studies in pharmacy education in the country. Apart from denying the MHRD scholarship to thousands of deserving pharmacy students across the country, the NCB's decision to exclude pharmacy education from GATE exams will have another adverse effect on the pharmacy students. With no GATE exam certificate, they will not be able to get admission in prominent universities and institutions as the GATE exam is considered a quality certificate for the students. In several universities and prominent colleges, a high percentage of seats, in some colleges as much as 70 per cent, are reserved for GATE students.