The academic institutions conducting post graduate courses in pharmacy in Kerala, including the school of pharmacies attached to government medical colleges in the state capital and in Kozhikode, are unable to comply with the AICTE guidelines in respect of commencement of courses because of inordinate delay in completing the admission process.

According to sources, the lapse is on the side of the Directorate of Medical Education (DME). The victims of the imprudence of the government agency are the private colleges and the losers are the poor students of the state.

As per the guidelines, the procedures for starting classes for all the M Pharm courses have to be completed between July and September every year. But in Kerala, except an autonomous centre and a private institution, the PG courses are started in December or in January of the succeeding year. This situation prevails in the two government pharmacy colleges also.

Sources from various pharmacy colleges said, it is the duty of the directorate of medical education to help the colleges complete all processes on time. The prime reason for the lagging of the procedures is because of the delay in bringing out the prospectus by the office of the DME. The sources allege that in Kerala, the DME is conducting the pharmacy courses without an academic calendar for the same. Whereas, other courses like MBBS, BDS and BSc Nursing are run on academic calendars.

Because of the delay in starting the classes, each course is stretched beyond its stipulated period to complete its term and conduct of examinations. Two year Diploma course is completed after a period of three years, whereas the four year B Pharm is finished after a long period of five years. The students of the two year M Pharm complete their study after four years. Taking note of the seriousness of the situation, academicians in the pharmacy field ask a pertinent question that how long will it take to complete the course if the six year Pharm D programme is launched in these colleges.

Amrutha School of Pharmacy, Ernakulam and the school of medical education centre under Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam are the two institutions that commence the M Pharm courses on time following the norms of AICTE.

This indiscreet attitude from the side of the concerned authorities forces the B Pharm graduates seek admissions in colleges outside the state giving huge amount as capitation fee. They are not willing to put up with more than half a year for continuing their higher education in Kerala. Poor students who are eligible to get admissions on merit list are also compelled to seek admissions in colleges outside the state because they do not want to waste their time in Kerala where there is no guarantee for admission. This erosion of brilliant students from Kerala to neighbouring states puts the colleges in Kerala into serious trouble as they lose admissions.

When asked what his office will do on this issue, Rajiv Sadanandan, the state health secretary said he will look into the matter and do the needful to bring it at par with other states by streamlining the processes.

The first PG programme for pharmacy was sanctioned in Kerala in 1983 but due to the long completion of the initial processes, the class was started only in September next year. Unfortunately it took three years to complete the 2 year course in the beginning itself. So there was no admission held in the next two years, and the second batch was started in 1987. This lagging continued in the following years and the admissions were done after a long gap of six to eight months from the stipulated period. This phenomenon is still continuing in Kerala, and which is the only state where in late admissions are held for the course of M Pharmacy every year.

“The results of all B Pharm courses come out usually in May or early in June. So there is sufficient time for the government to conduct all the procedures including the release of prospectus. But all the processes are being delayed in the directorate of medical education,” a principal of a private college, who was previously the head of a government pharmacy college, said.

Dr KG Revikumar, principal, Amrita School of Pharmacy said students for the courses are selected through Common Entrance Test (CET) conducted by the commissioner of entrance examination. The prospectus has to be drafted and forwarded to the government for notification by the DME. After the government notification, the DME should provide the prospectus to the commissioner of entrance examination and admissions are made as per the conditions prescribed in the prospectus. In Kerala, the delay happens at this point, he told Pharmabiz.

Including two government colleges, there are ten academic institutions conducting PG programmes in Pharmacy in Kerala.