Revised 1:20 teacher-student ratio for BPharm courses may increase faculty load, lower education standards

Revised 1:20 teacher-student ratio for BPharm courses may increase faculty load, lower education standards 

PCI says directive aims at optimising teaching resources across pharmacy institutions, will not impact existing staff 

Priyadarshini.Gupta@timesofindia.com 20.01.2025  EDUCATION TIMES

 AHAMEDABAD

The Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) has specified the staff-to-student ratio for Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) courses should not exceed 1:20 in theory and practical classes in the pharmacy colleges. The directive came as part of a revised circular to initiate the approval process for pharmacy institutions for the academic session 2025-26. The teacher-student ratio earlier was 1:15, which has been increased from the new academic year. The PCI has revised faculty requirements based on student enrolments. Staff requirement for BPharm courses with 60 students in a batch has been reduced from a total of 15 to 12. Earlier, a college had four professors, four associate professors, and seven assistant professors, which now will be three professors, four associate professors, five assistant professors/lecturers, apart from the principal. 

For BPharm courses having 100 students, the faculty requirement has been brought down from 25 to 20. Earlier, it was four professors, seven associate professors, and 14 assistant professors/ lecturers, which will now be four professors, seven associate professors, and nine assistant professors/lecturers, apart from the principal. While the PCI wants to optimise faculty utilisation across pharmacy institutions, educators think the move will burden the teachers. 

Better allocation 

The PCI plans to introduce measures so that the directive does not affect the existing faculty. Speaking to Education Times, Montukumar Patel, president, PCI, says, “The ratio change aims to optimise resource utilisation across pharmacy institutions. Earlier, the distribution of workload, particularly in subjects taught during the second and third years of the course, resulted in some faculty members having limited responsibilities during certain academic periods, leading to underutilisation of teaching resources. By adopting the revised ratio, institutions can better allocate teaching staff across subjects and academic years.”Several institutions usually follow the ratio of 1:15. Srinivas Mutalik, professor and principal, Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, MAHE, Udupi, says, “A 1:15 ratio ensures more personalised attention for students, enhancing their learning experience. 

However, teachers will now need to pay more attention, especially in practicals, where close supervision is critical.” The revised ratio is likely to increase the workload for the faculty. Daksh Bhatia, professor, KIET School of Pharmacy, Ghaziabad, says, “Teachers are already burdened with responsibilities beyond their core teaching duties such as handling accreditation processes, research activities, and consulting. These administrative demands leave them with little time to focus on teaching.” He adds, “With fewer faculty members, the pressure will intensify as teachers will cover more subjects and manage larger groups of students. This maydegrade the quality of education.