The Pharmaceutical Society of Kerala (PSK), a subsidiary of Kerala State Pharmacy Council (KSPC), has submitted a proposal to the central government for setting up a NIPER-like institute in Kerala.

A PSK delegation was in Delhi recently in this connection and submitted a detailed project report (DPR) to the committee constituted by the Central Government for setting up NIPER-like (National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research) institutions in different regions of the country.

The PSK representative said that the response of the committee towards the PSK proposal of setting up a quality institute for pharmaceutical education in Kerala on the lines of NIPER was positive.

Sources in the PSK said, that Kerala, being a hub for herbal medicines and other unexploited medicinal resources, would prove to be an ideal location for setting up an institute like NIPER. He said that since Pharmacy education in Kerala was closely linked with the medical academic programmes, it would be easier to conduct collaborative research activities.

"Though the industrial orientation in Kerala is not so good, there are several other positive aspects in the state as was mentioned earlier. There are a lot of area in Northern Kerala which are ideal for setting up such a centre of excellence and even the committee people recognized the fact," said the source.

The Central government could either improve the standards of existing institutions in the states to make them Centre of Excellence or it will set up new institutions. For setting up a new institution, the respective state government has to make a formal request to the central government. Hence, the PSK has also forwarded a proposal to the Kerala government stating all the ideal conditions prevailing in the state for setting up an independent establishment like NIPER. The PSK has requested the Kerala government to take up the matter with the central government for setting up a new institution in Kerala.

"If it is a central government programme, then the funding from the central government will flow in and we can conduct a lot of medical research activities which is lacking in the state as well as in the country. And we are expecting a positive response," informed the source. He said that if the centre is established in Kerala, a collaborative work in medicinal plants research, pharmacy education and medical science could be carried out easily.

The source said, that even though NIPER was set up in the 90's, the institution is still following the same old traditional courses. Even though courses like pharmacy practice were introduced in the institute, it is not fully functional. Moreover, while private colleges were coming out with modern courses, NIPER is the same old one.