The 15th Annual Convention of the Association Pharmaceutical Teachers of India (APTICON 2010) that started yesterday in Hyderabad has called for measures to improve the quality of pharmacy education in India as it is not matching the global standards. The education, offered by pharmacy institutions in the country, varies widely and there are only few institutions maintain global standards, the academicians and policy makers who shared the dais of the inaugural function opined.

The Convention was inaugurated by the minister of Technical Education, Government of Andhra Pradesh, M Venkata Ramana, who said there are over 300 pharmacy colleges in Andhra Pradesh and they, like other pharmacy colleges in the country, need to be improved in the quality of education.

Dr P G Yeole, president of APTI, while delivering his presidential address, said the main drawback of the quality in education is that the graduates coming out from the pharmacy institutions lack the skills needed for practice. Most of the academic institutions providing education in pharmacy are away from practice environment and much of what is taught does not offer the student a feel for what to expect in industry, hospitals or in community settings. He said interaction between industry and healthcare organizations is necessary to know their needs and it would help them to include what is possible and appropriate into the educational system.

Likewise, he said, quality issues in teaching and training have not received adequate attention. Shortage of trained and committed teachers is a major problem faced by the pharmacy colleges in the country. Academic position in pharmacy institutions is not an attractive option for the pharmacists as compared to many areas of industrial pharmacy. So APTI has taken up this task of improvement of pharmacy education as a national mandate and the association’s proposal for the establishment of an Academic Staff College for Pharmacy Teachers is now under active consideration. The president of the association said this upcoming facility will give training to the teachers as professional, teaching and behavioural skill development organ of the association.

In his key note address, Dr B Suresh, president of Pharmaceutical Council of India said, PCI will support and provide all possible helps for the establishment of the Academic Staff College envisaged by APTI. He said PCI has got several complaints from teachers and students of various pharmacy colleges in the country regarding poor quality of education and shortage of raw materials and qualified teachers in several institutions. Some colleges in the country have no adequate faculties and no proper conduct of classes. Some colleges exhibit the names of industrial professionals working in foreign countries as their faculty members and even pay salaries, but they are not visiting those colleges even once in a year. Pharmacy Council of India will initiate action against such colleges, he said.

While addressing the audience, the acting chairman of AICTE, Dr SS Mantha said AICTE has filed FIR against 11 institutions, including engineering colleges, for not maintaining quality education. He further said the regulatory institution has now started moving from the position of regulator to a facilitator. So many changes are taking place in AICTE which are the indicators of facilitation for quality upgradation. Mantha also said AICTE will support the establishment of Staff Training College for pharmacy teachers.

Dr JN Suresh Kumar, principal of Deccan School of Pharmacy, Hyderabad and vice-chairman of the Local Organizing Committee welcomed the gathering. Dr CK Kokate, vice-chancellor, KLE University, Belgaum, professor K Chinnasamy, emeritus professor, JSS College of Pharmacy, Ootty, professor Shete Rajkumar, vice president, APTI and Prof B Madhava Reddy, organizing secretary, LoC spoke on the occasion.