Source: https://www.thehitavada.com/Encyc/2023/1/30/Pharmacy-edn-may-not-be-part-of-AICTE.html
Primary Source: https://www.aicte-india.org/
The process of
separating Pharmacy education from All India Council for Technical
Education (AICTE) is in the final stage. Now it will be handled only by
Pharmacy Council of India (PCI). According to sources, the Government
has in-principle agreed to bring Pharmacy exclusively under the PCI’s
ambit. Whenever the decision is implemented, it will benefit Pharmacy
education at large.
Pharmacy
education was brought under the ambit of AICTE long ago. Though the
curriculum, regulations, approval to colleges, etc. were being looked
after by PCI, the team of AICTE too visited colleges. Colleges face
visits from AICTE and PCI too. In case PCI failed to find lacunae, AICTE
team identified deficiencies, submitting negative report or vice versa
due to which confusion always reigned supreme. Pharmacy education has
technical as well as science aspect. Pharmacy education under science is
under PCI, but being technical aspect, it remained under AICTE too.
According to some experts of Pharmacy education, this branch should stay
with PCI only. PCI, too, has been trying since long to get it
separated.
Some
teachers, on condition of anonymity, expressed their worries. If
Pharmacy gets separated from AICTE, what would happen to PCI funding. At
present, a Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test (GPAT) qualifier gets a
scholarship if the institute is AICTE-approved. If pharmacy comes out of
AICTE, how would the scholarship be given as the institute will not
have AICTE approval. In 2020, the Apex Court clearly said that PCI would
be the supreme body for affiliation for Pharmacy colleges, but the
issue of GPAT scholarship was not addressed.
AICTE
is getting funds from Government of India for GPAT stipend and research
grants. According to sources, PCI is trying to work on how it would get
the funds through the Health Ministry. Once pharmacy gets separated,
PCI will have complete hold on pharmacy colleges. All pharmacy
institutions, their teachers would have to follow a regulation from PCI
only. Some pharmacy academicians felt, not having two regulatory bodies
is always better.
