In the wake of complaints from post-graduate students of pharmacy (M Pharm) from government pharmacy colleges in Kerala, a senate member of the Kerala University of Health Sciences (KUHS), with the support of senior faculty members, is planning to approach the governor-cum-chancellor of the state demanding amendment in the University Act-2010 to create a statute to appoint dean for the faculty of pharmacy from government institutions only.

Currently, for the faculties of pharmaceutical sciences and dental, the deans have been selected and appointed from self-financing colleges. A teacher of a private pharmacy college in Ernakulam district acts as the dean of faculty of pharmacy at KUHS for the last four years when there are senior and experienced academicians available in the government colleges, said the senate member.

There are four institutions in the government sector conducting pharmacy courses, colleges of pharmaceutical sciences at government medical colleges in Thiruvananthapuram, Alappuzha, Kottayam and Kozhikodu. None of the teachers of these government colleges has been selected for the post of dean of faculty.

As per KUHS Act 2010, it is the discretion of the vice-chancellor to select and appoint the deans for different faculties. The senate member has alleged that, taking advantage of this statute, the VC has acted in favor of a particular private institution and selected the HoD of pharmacy from that college for the post of dean at the varsity. After completion of his first tenure, he has been reappointed for a second term also, said the senate member.

At present KUHS has total 7 deans in different faculties. Except for the faculties of pharmacy and dental, deans for medicine (allopathy), nursing, ayurveda, homoeo and paramedical & allied health sciences have been appointed from government colleges. When the university was started in the year 2010, the first dean appointed for the faculty for pharmaceutical sciences was from government pharmacy college in Kozhikodu. But after his tenure, the next dean was appointed from private college, and he is still continuing in the position for a second term. Representation of teachers from government pharmacy colleges in the faculty board is very poor.

The PG students of pharmacy have complained that because of the favoritism of the VC, the dean of the faculty is showing sympathy towards certain private institutions and the PG students of those private colleges are awarded high marks in internal assessments, and they are getting 497/498 marks out of 500 for the internal exam. Besides, these colleges are getting better results in the PG exams, leaving out the prospects of the meritorious students at the government colleges, it is alleged.

According to pharmacy teachers, the marks obtained in the PG examination will also be counted in the examinations conducted by public service commission for the selection of pharmacy teachers. So the unjust activities of the VC, the dean and the management of the self-financing colleges will affect the future of the students.

The academicians put one demand to the Governor that the statute to appoint deans for different faculties in the University Act should be amended so as to create a statute that only academicians from government institutions be appointed as deans. Further, they want that the governing council of the university should have representation from the senate. Though the senate has 86 members including 48 elected members and 4 MLAs, none of them has been included in the governing council. There should an amendment in the act in this regard also, they said.