The Kerala Pharmacy College Management Association (KPCMA) has said that lack of support from state government and Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) is the main reason that slows the growth of pharmacy colleges in Kerala. According to them the Kerala government does not have any specific plan or strategy to promote pharmacy education in the state.

The Association demanded immediate intervention of the government into the matter to make the sector at par with its parallel sector in other states and to enable the passed out graduates to find academic and legal acceptance in other countries.

“Government does not have any specific plan or strategy for the promotion of pharmacy education in Kerala. They should look into the present scenario and adopt some measures to help the Colleges. Also the support or guidance from pharmacy council of India is lacking in many areas,” said Advocate P Krishnadas, Secretary of the association.

He said most of the colleges are getting maximum number of students even though the AICTE has increased the students’ intake last year. But all the colleges in Kerala, compared to other states, experience shortage of PhD holders in Pharmacy. According to him the communication skills of the students have to be developed by giving intensive training. More industry oriented practical trainings are required and syllabus has to be modified as per the international requirement.

When asked whether the colleges in Kerala can supply pharmacists for the total requirement of the state, he said the number of pharmacists coming out from the pharmacy colleges is not sufficient for the state’s requirements, and more graduates are required. He added that there were chances for pharmacy graduates in hospitals, industrial units and in pharmacy outlets. The number of Post Graduates in Pharmacy is less because the PG programmes were started only four years ago in Kerala.

Regarding industry-academia relation, Krishnadas said even though there are some pharma manufacturing units, they don’t maintain any relation with the academic institutions.

He said the PCI and AICTE do not conduct inspections in the colleges every year and the institutions are getting so many hardships and confusions from the advice of these two regulatory bodies.