PCI announces special provisions for B.Pharm students admitted up to AY 2025-26
Gireesh Babu, New Delhi
Saturday, July 25, 2026, 08:00 Hrs [IST]
The Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) has announced special provisions for the students who have been admitted to the B.Pharm programme up to the academic year 2025-26, in order to tide over any difficulties in completing the course following implementation of the revised B.Pharm syllabus.
The provision is intended to solely help students meet the minimum attendance requirements and complete the programme under the regulations applicable to their admission, said the Council.
The Council, in the backdrop of implementation of the revised B. Pharm syllabus (2026) as per NEP 2020 prescribed by the PCI for students admitted from the academic year 2026 2027 onwards, "all students admitted to the B. Pharm programme up to the academic year 2025-2026 shall continue to be governed by the syllabus and regulations under which they were originally admitted".
To enable these students to complete the programme under B. Pharm syllabus (2016-2017), they shall be permitted to progress to the next higher semester and attend classes, irrespective of any backlog courses.
"Students may continue their studies from the semester immediately following the last semester attended by them, while carrying forward their backlog courses and may continue in this manner up to the eighth semester," it added.
As no new admissions will be made from 2026-2027 onwards under the B. Pharm syllabus (2016-2017), students with a shortage of attendance in any semester shall be given an opportunity to make up the required attendance through special classes, additional instructional hours conducted beyond regular class hours, during study leave periods or through other arrangements approved by the institution.
"This provision is intended solely to help students meet the minimum attendance requirements and complete the programme under the regulations applicable to their admission," said the Council.
"It is the responsibility of the university/institution to ensure that, students admitted as per B. Pharm syllabus (2016-2017) complete the programme as required,' it added.
As reported earlier, the Council has recently notified the B.Pharm 2026, syllabus in the Gazette of India and directed the Universities and colleges approved by the Council under the Pharmacy Act, 1948, to strictly implement the syllabus from the academic session 2026-27.
The PCI launched the B.Pharm syllabus with a Choice Based Credit System (CBCS), emphasising on practical learning, research orientation, digital and artificial intelligence (AI) integration, proposed for implementation from the academic year 2026–27, on April 17, 2026.
The curriculum has been developed in alignment with the vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, to strengthen pharmacy education and with a vision to prepare graduates to meet the evolving needs of healthcare and the pharmaceutical sector.
The new syllabus aims at graduate attributes, the key competencies and professional qualities expected from every pharmacy graduate, as the pharmaceutical knowledge proficiency, scientific and analytical thinking, ethical and professional integrity, patient centred orientation, industry and practice readiness, digital and technological awareness, effective communication skills, among others.
The key highlights of the syllabus apart from the digital and AI technologies include research projects in the seventh and eighth semesters, internships in the fourth and sixth semesters, interdisciplinary learning, elective courses to ensure flexibility for the students, strong industry and clinical exposure, outcome-based education, focus on innovation, entrepreneurship and start-ups, among others.
The syllabus introduces emerging areas, including artificial intelligence (AI) and latest digital technologies, enabling students to understand their applications in fields such as drug discovery, pharmaceutical manufacturing, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacy practice, while remaining firmly grounded in the core pharmaceutical sciences, says the Council.
The course of study for B. Pharm shall extend over a period of eight semesters (four academic years) and six semesters (three academic years) for lateral entry students, it added.
