Various regulatory bodies are existing in the country to check irregularities, prevent exploitation, maintain standards, etc. But, look around, especially close to the pharmacy education scenario, one wonder whether all these things exist in India and stare where we live... in jungle or in modern civilization.

The wonderful aspect of it is majority of us are not ready to bother about it. Except for a few feeble voices here and there, no movement is visible against such situation. The so called learned pharmacy professionals are indifferent towards deteriorating standards of pharmacy education. They simply turn away or hand in glove with people who are out to destroy the pharmacy profession.

Duel control
Pharmacy education is the only field in India controlled by two authorities - the PCI and the AICTE. All the other professions are controlled by respective councils like Medical council, Dental council, Nursing council, Bar council etc. Why such an anomaly in pharmacy education alone? Why the Govt. of the day is not ready to correct this anomaly even after pointing out it umpteen number of times? Who and What prevent it? Why the high profile human resources minster Kabil Sibal is not able to do anything about it? We afraid before his proposal of Higher Education Council materialise everything will be over. Damage has already been done. Is his or Health Ministry’s proposed council is for carrying out the post mortem?

Pharmacy education scenario
Already the PCI and AICTE are at loggerheads regarding the control of pharmacy education in India. PCI could not wrest the control of graduate and postgraduate courses in pharmacy from the clutches of AICTE. [It has full control over the diploma course only]. It has no influence, means or resources to fight the mighty AICTE. Then what it should do? It should have organised all professional associations like APTI, IPA, IPGA, IHPA, and above all the pharmacy colleges associations and pharmacy students against AICTE. It has no such strategy or will power to do that. Hence, the AICTE has gone to the extent of killing the standards of pharmacy education. Suppose to be the protector of the profession has turned to be a destroyer of the profession. This is evident from the following actions of AICTE.

Omissions and commissions of AICTE
The omissions and commissions of AICTE are there everybody to see. The ex-chairman and few officials of AICTE were taken into custody in bribery cases and the member secretary was removed from the post last year.
 
Take the case of one Indian state of Andhra Pradesh alone, 200 and odd pharmacy colleges were given permission to start in a single academic year, thereby taking the total number of pharmacy colleges there to around 300 - nearly one third of pharmacy colleges of entire India! What is the justification? Where is the faculty to man all these 290+ colleges? Rightly PCI has opposed it then and its president has openly criticized it in a Press meet at Hyderabad. [What the PCI did? How many ill-equipped colleges PCI closed thereafter is yet to come out]. This was in 2009.

In 2010, even after revamping the body of AICTE after the arrests, by the central Govt it has started giving permission liberally to start M. Pharm courses with a minimum of 18 seats per branch. There are more than 4400 seats of M. Pharm available in Andhra Pradesh alone. Again AICTE has mustered the courage to destroy the next level of pharmacy education - first B. Pharm, now M. Pharm.

As per usual university norms a professor or associate professor with Ph.D qualification can guide 3 or 4 PG students in their final year research projects. Take it for granted it can be 6 students. Even then a minimum of 3 senior professors per branch are needed in each of these pharmacy colleges. That means at least 750 senior professors with Ph.D should be in employment in Andhra Pradesh pharmacy colleges alone to teach 4400 PG students.

Let us challenge, will the AICTE publish the name of these professors with their biodata and local address? This question can be and should be echoed by all like minded pharmacy professionals and associations. Why, even the PCI can ask this question to the AICTE, to beat its enemy with the weapon given by the enemy himself.

Not only that any responsible Indian citizen or consumer organisation or court can ask this question under Right to Information Act. Is there anybody? If there is no one among 1.2 billion Indians, let the God save this country! In this connection let us remember the ‘great’ Deemed Universities that are admitting 70 to 100 students per branch of M. Pharm, which was exposed in an article ‘Deemed universities - pulling down the education standards?’ by this author. [Pharmabiz 28.5.2009].

Money minded managements and greedy AICTE are hand in glove to loot the students to make quick money and vanish from the scene. A crime against humanity is going on in front of us, are we going shut our eyes? What is required is loud and strong protest, not feeble murmurs from the professionals and well meaning peoples. Otherwise damage will be unbearable for the profession, as the next academic year is round the corner and admission bookings has already started, a quick action is what warranted. Another batch of 5000 M. Pharm without any knowledge will definitely ring the death knell for the profession.

Well, that is the second dose of AICTE’s poison to the pharmacy education. The third dose of poison is being prepared by AICTE to ensure the death of pharmacy education. It has started to interfere in the Diploma in pharmacy course also, even after so much protest by PCI and others. It has announced a 4-year D. Pharmacy course with 10th standard as minimum qualification for admission. This is at a time when pharmacy professionals are demanding abolition of D. Pharm and requesting to raise the minimum requirement to register as pharmacist as degree in pharmacy as in other countries. But AICTE is trying to take the profession in the reverse direction! What a fantastic service to the country!!
 
It is crystal clear that AICTE is doing it wilfully, just to trouble the PCI, as everybody knows D. Pharm is controlled and regulated by PCI under Pharmacy Act from 1948. Is it AICTE’s ignorance or arrogance? Is it to avenge the PCI or people of India? PCI has already opposed it and warned the college managements and students about it in their website.

What all these things show? Can’t you guess? AICTE has decided and determined to disturb and destroy the pharmacy education right from the diploma level to PG level [or to make money, probably before being replaced by the proposed higher education council]. If it is not the case of fence feeding on the crop what else it could be?