Seven prominent pharmacy colleges in Andhra Pradesh have been blacklisted by Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) for not complying with its order of restricting admissions to 60 students per course from this academic year.

Cracking the whip for not adhering to its dictates, PCI has asked the government to bar these colleges from Eamcet counselling next year. The council has also informed the state government that these colleges have violated the Education Regulation Act 1999 and asked the government to initiate action against the violators.

Colleges which have been penalised by the council from Hyderabad include Raja Bhadur Venkatram Reddy Pharmacy College, Shadan College of Pharmacy and Malla Reddy Institute of Pharmacy, SR College of pharmacy from Warangal, Vasavi Pharmacy College from West Godavari, Vignan Pharmacy College from Visakhapatnam and KV Subba Reddy College from Kurnool are the other colleges in the state which have been penalised by the PCI. These are reputed colleges amongst the existing pharmacy institutes in the state.

Meanwhile, the college managements of the pharmacy institutes claim that their intake is approved by AICTE. They feel that PCI’s actions are unilateral and unjustified and urged it to sort out the problem with AICTE.

While PCI gives approval for 60 seats in a pharmacy college, AICTE has approved an intake of up to 200 seats. PCI’s contention is that AICTE has given indiscriminate approval to the increase in student intake without conducting proper inspections to see whether the infrastructure and faculty in the colleges is adequate.

APPC president Viay R Annappa Reddy said that when there are single digit admissions in almost more than 50 per cent colleges, these colleges are admitting students more than approved seats and violating the prescribed norms.

The PCI has made it clear that it will not recognize the degrees awarded to students by colleges tat gave admissions in excess of the number approved by PCI.