With a view to improve the standard of pharmacy education in the country, the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) wants the pharmacy colleges to adopt a more pro-active stance towards understanding various regulatory requirements of PCI. The Council is of the view that it is high time both the government and the colleges developed a more symbiotic relation with the other to uplift the pharmacist role to a coveted profession in the country.

The demand comes in the wake of observations made by the Council that very few colleges were acquainted with requirements of the Pharmacy Act and its provisions. This in turn lead to a lot of regulatory issues and flouting of the Act affecting the quality of pharmacy education in the country. Experts from industry too feel that the existing situation is creating a lot of confusion and grey areas in understanding the rules which is misused by some sections.

According to Dr H G Koshia, vice president of the Gujarat State Pharmacy Council, it is an alarming issue that needs to be addressed at the earliest to ensure that the pharmacy as a profession does not get affected. He pointed out that there is a serious need to sensitise and educate the academicians, about all the requisite provisions that are required to follow to ensure that the students do not suffer due to lack of understanding of the regulatory requirements among the colleges.

He added, “We are constantly striving to improve our educational system by adopting various regulatory changes to uplift the profession and the standard of education imparted in our colleges as and when required. But for these changes to be truly effective it is essential for the colleges to understand the same and adopt it effectively throughout the country. Thus, to achieve this goal we need to develop a strategic programme that will provide an ideal platform for both the regulators and collegiates to come together on a regular basis to discuss and deliberate over issues and concerns relating to regulatory matters.”

It is understood that to achieve this, PCI is going to push for more collaborative efforts with the colleges in future throughout the country that will mainly focus on sensitising them about the role of PCI in the upliftment of the pharmacy profession and also on the important regulatory provisions they are required to follow as per the Pharmacy Act. The programme will enable frequent interaction with the stake holders that will help in better understanding of the provisions of the law by them at the same time ensuring an effective way of monitoring the same by the regulators.

The pharmacy education in India is governed by two statutory bodies. PCI constituted under the Pharmacy Act, 1948, regulates the profession of pharmacy by prescribing minimum qualification for registration as a pharmacist. Whereas AICTE constituted under AICTE Act, 1987 regulates and promotes growth of technical education, including pharmacy.