More than 30,000 pharmacy students in the country have been left in the lurch as they have been denied the opportunity to appear for the prestigious and much valued nationwide GATE (graduate aptitude test for engineering) exams by the national coordinating board (NCB) for GATE, which conducts the exams. The NCB has decided to exclude the pharmacy education from the purview of this nation-wide annual examination from next year.

According to sources, the NCB has decided to exclude pharmacy education from the GATE examination on the rather specious plea that the board does not have pharmacy teachers to prepare the question papers. The NCB consists of senior faculty from IITs and other prominent engineering institutions. 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 eligible to participate in these exams.

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. The pharmacy students will not be eligible for the ministry of human resource development (MHRD)'s scholarships for higher studies. The scholarship amount ranges from Rs 7,000 to 8,000 per month.

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.

Meanwhile, the aggrieved students have moved Karnataka High Court and the court has admitted a writ petition.

When contacted, Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) chairman Dr B Suresh said that the Council has already taken up the issue with the HRD ministry. "If the MHRD gives a mandate to the PCI to conduct the GATE exams for the pharmacy students, the PCI is ready to conduct it," Dr Suresh said. He also added that he will once again raise the issue in the next NCB meeting scheduled for November 23 in Guwahati.