Pharmacy institutes served stiff deadline for biometrics amid ‘ghost faculty’, fake records

Pharmacy institutes served stiff deadline for biometrics amid ‘ghost faculty’, fake records

Faced with issues such as fake records and ghost faculty, the Pharmacy Council of India has mandated a 15-day deadline for colleges to implement biometric attendance. Failure to comply may result in withdrawal of approvals.

Priyanka Sharma

Published 24 Aug 2025, 03:44 PM IST

Over half of India’s approved pharmacy colleges have not yet adopted the new system, and just 13% faculty members are registered. (Mint)

New Delhi: Confronted with fake records and the spectre of “ghost faculty” in pharmacy colleges, the Pharmacy Council of India, a statutory body under the health and family welfare ministry, has issued a 15-day ultimatum for institutions to adopt the Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS).

In a strict push to enforce the biometric attendance mandate, the council has warned that any failure to meet the deadline may lead to withdrawal of approvals for the institutions. Such a move could disrupt pharmacy education, as the unapproved institutions would not be able to operate.

Pharmacy colleges have till 5 September to adopt the biometric attendance system, following a notification issued by the Pharmacy Council of India on Thursday.

Statistics from the council reflect an alarming situation. Over half of India’s approved pharmacy colleges have not yet adopted the new system, and just 13% faculty members are registered. The council that regulates India's pharmacy profession, practice and education has also uncovered massive data faking, with 45,355 duplicate or invalid teacher profiles on the government’s DIGI-PHARMed portal, as reported by Mint earlier

According to a communication issued to the pharma schools, and seen by Mint, the council observed that the adoption of the biometric system is way behind expectations. The biometric system, which is designed to prevent manual interference in attendance records, is essential to restore accountability, it said.

The pharmacy council has warned that unless institutions act quickly, weak oversight will continue to undermine teaching standards and erode the credibility of pharmacy degrees and the quality of pharmacists produced in the country.

As of 7 August, only about 2,735 institutions had onboarded to the new system, less than half the approximately 6,000 approved ones. The lag in faculty registration is even more critical. Of the roughly 95,000 teaching faculty approved by the government on the DIGI-PHARMed platform, only about 12,600 have been registered on the AEBAS.

The council has approved around 5,669 institutions for a diploma in pharmacy and 2,958 institutions for a degree.

The biometric attendance system, which was rolled out earlier this year, has been designed to create a more reliable and secure database of pharmacy educators and students by linking unique IDs with Aadhaar numbers.

“The lack of proper faculty attendance tracking threatens the integrity of academic standards and could ultimately devalue the degrees of thousands of pharmacy students across the country,” an official said.

870 pharma colleges okayed in 13 days, CBI probe shows

870 pharma colleges okayed in 13 days, CBI probe shows 

PCI SCAM 

Ashish.Chauhan@timesofindia.com 05.07.2025

Ahmedabad : The Centreal Bureau of Investigation, which is probing a massive breach of regulatory compliance framework has found itself further unravelling how 870 pharmacy colleges across India were approved in just 13 days during 2023–24, many through brief Zoom calls. At the centre of the scam is Dr Montu Kumar Patel, president of the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI), who allegedly fast-tracked approvals — some cleared over Zoom calls as short as seven to eight minutes, according to official documents of the case. 

According to the preliminary inquiry triggered by a complaint from the Union ministry of health and family welfare, the PCI replaced physical site inspections with online inspections from April 2023. “A circular was issued allowing new colleges to apply online, and 870 colleges were shortlisted for inspection between June 28 and July 10, 2023. Some of these were cleared through online inspections within minutes while others were cleared within days in inspections conducted from centralised locations such as the PCI office in Delhi and LM College of Pharmacy, Gujarat,” stated a CBI report. 

The findings are alarming. Several colleges that reportedly lacked buildings, infrastructure, qualified staff or even students were given affiliation by Dr Montu Patel and his aides, said the CBI document. Inspectors were often unable to verify original documents or faculty presence, and video evidence was missing in nearly all cases. One Zoom inspection from Ayodhya lasted just eight minutes, despite the absence of a principal. 

The college lacked basic infrastructure and was still approved after an affidavit was submitted, stated the report. The CBI probe also uncovered bribery linked to the approval process. In one case, an aide to Dr Patel, identified as Vinod Kumar Tiwari, allegedly paid Rs 11 lakh, including Rs 95,000 via bank transfers and the rest in cash, to a primary schoolteacher, Santosh Kumar Jha, to secure approval for his college, the document stated. 

This is not the first instance of alleged misuse of office by Dr Patel. In April 2022, prior to the PCI presidential election, he allegedly booked rooms worth Rs 2.75 lakh at a New Delhi hotel to host voters. After winning the election, he allegedly consolidated power by appointing close aides to key council roles and granting sweeping approval rights to select individuals, said a document of the CBI inquiry. 

The investigation revealed that at least six colleges with negative inspection reports were also granted approval. During field visits to 23 colleges in UP, MP, Gujarat, and Rajasthan, CBI teams found non-functional or grossly deficient facilities. The CBI on June 30 registered an FIR against Dr Montu Patel and others under IPC Sections 120-B for criminal conspiracy, 420 for cheating, and the Prevention of Corruption Act. 

Meanwhile, the state unit of the Congress party has demanded an impartial probe into allegations of irregularities by PCI. Speaking to reporters at the GPCC headquarters, party spokesperson Manish Doshi said that there are 104 pharmacy colleges in Gujarat, of which only three are govt-run, and three are grantin-aid, while the remaining 98 are self-financed. 

“For several years, there are only 380 seats in govt and grant-in-aid pharmacy colleges, while private colleges have been charging exorbitant fees. Why is the state govt silent over the business practices of private pharmacy colleges?” Doshi asked. He demanded an impartial probe into allegations of irregularities in the inspection and approval processes of pharmacy colleges by PCI.

Maharashtra cites poor standards, proposes no new pharmacy colleges for 5 years

Maharashtra cites poor standards, proposes no new pharmacy colleges for 5 years

By Niraj Pandit

Jun 23, 2025 11:02 AM IST 

HINDUSTAN TIMES 23.06.2025

Officials said that many pharmacy colleges, particularly in low-demand regions, had been approved without proper inspection of infrastructure and academic readiness

Maharashtra’s higher and technical education department has raised concerns over poor standards of pharmacy colleges and urged the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) to suspend approvals for any new such institutes in the state for the next five years, people aware of the matter said. The move comes amid rising vacancies in pharmacy courses and a dip in education quality.Maharashtra minister Chandrakant Patil met with Union health minister J P Nadda over the matter. (X)

Officials said that the PCI had approved many pharmacy colleges, particularly in low-demand regions, without proper inspection of infrastructure, academic readiness, or demand from local students. They noted that PCI granted permissions without consultation with the state’s technical education department, leading to a surplus of institutions with poor facilities and faculty shortages.

The state government last year formed a committee of industry experts and academics to review the status of the pharmacy colleges, considering the vacant seats. Officials said the panel found many colleges functioned without adequate laboratories, equipment, libraries, or classroom space. In some institutions, admissions remained far below capacity year after year, while others were unable to meet even basic educational standards.

The state’s request to PCI came months after Maharashtra minister Chandrakant Patil met with Union health minister J P Nadda in New Delhi and submitted a 2025–2031 roadmap highlighting how the quality of education had been compromised due to unchecked expansion and lack of oversight.

An official said the delegation recommended that PCI impose a blanket restriction on new B Pharm and D Pharm colleges in the state for at least five years and refrain from granting any increase in intake capacity to the existing ones. “Nadda is said to have responded positively to this suggestion, raising expectations that central action may soon follow.”

The official said the department decided to inspect all colleges set up in the last three years to understand the quality of infrastructure and education.

New assessment model of PCI to grade colleges into 4 categories

New assessment model of PCI to grade colleges into 4 categories 

The revised system will evaluate institutions on measurable outcomes such as student academic performance, quality of teaching 

Priyadarshini.Gupta@timesofindia.com 05.05.2025

Aiming at enhancing the credibility of pharmacy education in India and enabling aspirants to make informed choices during college admissions, the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI), in collaboration with the Quality Council of India (QCI), has launched a new national-level assessment and rating framework for pharmacy institutes. 

Moving away from a traditional compliance-driven model, the new system adopts an outcome-oriented approach that evaluates institutions based on 11 parameters such as curriculum, practical/clinical experiences, teachinglearning environment, students’ admission, human resources, assessment policy, research output and impact, financial resource, community outreach programmes, quality assurance system and feedback and perception of stakeholders.

The new system will include both desktop-based evaluation as well as physical inspections of pharmacy colleges. Institutions will be categorised into four grades: A, B, C, and D, based on their overall performance across these parameters. 

With more than 3,000 pharmacy colleges nationwide, the physical inspections will begin from July-August 2025. The results from this assessment will reflect data from the academic year 2024-25 and are expected to be released for the 2025-26 academic cycle. 

Performing colleges 

The new system will ensure greater transparency, and student awareness in the sector. It will help both domestic and international students by offering a verified list of institutions. Montukumar Patel, president, PCI, says, “The idea is to assess educational institutions thoroughly — whether they are delivering quality education or not, and if teacher training and learning outcomes are being met or not. 

The new system will rank and rate institutions across the country from the best to the worst. This will help students make good decisions during admissions. Even foreign students who wish to study in India can apply accordingly. Previously, foreign students had to approach individual universities for admissions. However, as per the new UGC policy, India is supposed to reserve 25% of its seats in top institutions for foreign students. Hence, there was a need for a system to rank institutions in the pharmacy education too.” 

The new reform brings PCI closer to the accreditation practices followed by bodies such as the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) and the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) which is based on outcomes. Daksh Bhatia, professor, KIET School of Pharmacy, Ghaziabad, says, “Earlier, PCI assessment was based on compliance, focusing mainly on infrastructure, faculty count, and availability of equipment. In contrast, the new system evaluates institutions on measurable outcomes such as student academic performance, quality of teaching, research productivity, graduate employability, and higher education progression.” 

The parameter framework has been piloted in 1011 pharmacy institutions across the country. The pilot was being done to validate whether the parameters designed were effective and practical for institutions. The assessment system focuses on diploma and UG programmes but may extend to the PG level, later. Varinder S Kanwar, CEO, National Accreditation Board for Education and Training, QCI, says, “Until now, rankings were done at the institutional level. The assessment model, combining data analysis with field visits, will address discrepancies between reported data and on-the-ground realities. Unlike the previous systems that relied solely on documentation, we are now going for on-site verification as well. 

This will increase the credibility of the assessments.” Each assessment cycle will be followed by feedback reports, enabling institutions to focus on specific weak areas. “This categorisation is designed to be progressive which means institutions in lower categories will have the opportunity to improve their standings in the subsequent years,” he says.

Students seek centralised intake for PharmD course

Students seek centralised intake for PharmD course 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 15.04.2025

Ahmedabad : With Class 12 results expected soon across Gujarat, the admission process for various degree programmes is about to commence, highlighting a persistent issue with the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) programme. Unlike other technical courses in the state, the five-year PharmD course offered by Gujarat Technological University (GTU) and 31 other colleges currently operates with a decentralized admission process, raising concerns among students and parents. 

Currently, each of the 31 colleges independently conducts admissions for the PharmD programme, setting its own criteria and fee structure as the course is not regulated by the fee regulatory committee (FRC). 

This stands in stark contrast to courses like engineering, pharmacy (other than PharmD), MBA, and MCA, where admissions are managed centrally by the admission committee. Sources suggest that bringing PharmD admissions under the purview of the centralized admission committee would significantly simplify the process for students. 

It would allow them to apply through a common platform and secure admission in their preferred college without the burden of visiting multiple institutions. 

The lack of a standard policy also leads to variations in fees and application procedures, creating confusion and additional burden for aspiring students. Experts believe that including the PharmD course under the centralized admission system could ensure transparency, uniformity, and ease of access for students.

PCI implementation of Aadhaarlinked IDs, biometric attendance to curb ghost faculty

PCI implementation of Aadhaarlinked IDs, biometric attendance to curb ghost faculty 

Pharmacy institutions have been directed to procure certified biometric authentication devices to ensure proper attendance 

Priyadarshini.Gupta@timesofindia.com 

In a move to enhance transparency and address malpractices in the pharmacy education sector, the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) will be soon implementing Aadhaarbased authentication for the unique ID registration numbers issued to pharmacy teachers and students. The initiative, expected to begin in February, will curb creation of duplication and ghost faculty profiles. To strengthen this further, the PCI is also in the process of initiating the implementation of Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS) in all approved pharmacy institutions from the 2025-2026 academic session in a phased manner. '

There have been growing concerns over the lack of transparency in maintaining accurate records of pharmacy educators. Institutions sometimes fail to keep proper records of their teaching staff, often hiring guest lecturers or assigning ‘ghost faculty’ to avoid regular payroll. All institutions are directed to procure Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification (STQC)-certified biometric authentication devices. With this, the PCI will monitor the attendance of all faculty staff at the institutions. The Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) are required to maintain internet connectivity for the effective functioning of this system. 

Experts feel the new system will enhance the credibility of pharmacy education and facilitate better policymaking. Montukumar Patel, president, PCI, says, “Introduction of Aadhaar-linked unique IDs will create a more reliable and secure way to manage the database of pharmacy educators and students. As of now, more than 1,00,000 teachers have applied for their unique ID  registration number. 

We expect to receive more registrations soon.” Chance to re-register The unique ID registration system involves the issuance of an ID card with a QR code, which contains the central registration number of the teacher or student. These smart cards not only serve as an identification tool but also enable easy verification via QR codes. The link between Aadhaar and the unique ID will ensure that each registered teacher or student has a verifiable identity, preventing the creation of multiple fraudulent profiles. The process will be managedthrough the PCI website, where teachers and students can initiate the process of lin king their Aadhaar numbers with their respective IDs. 

“Previously, there were no checkpoints to ensure the validity of registrations, leading to the creation of multiple profiles by the same individual, often using different email addresses. The new system will eliminate such discrepancies,” adds Patel. The PCI usually faces a challenge in maintaining the DIGI-PHARMedportal due to the prevalence of duplicate or invalid profiles. Recently, it blacklisted over 91,000 such profiles on the portal. “The council has now asked individuals to re-register using their Aadhaar-linked mobile numbers. This will ensure that only valid candidates are allowed access to the system, and prevent further cases of duplicate profiles,” says the PCI president. 

Boost accountability The initiative aims to enhance its teacher identification system and create accountability. Daksh Bhatia, professor, KIET School of Pharmacy, Ghaziabad, says, “The PCI has been collecting details of teachers and issuing ID cards for some time now, however, the process lacked authentication. There have been instances of duplication, where some teachers created multiple IDs using different email addresses linked to the same Aadhaar number. Delays in generating OTPs further led to errors and duplication. Faculty members will now also be able to shift from one institution to another with relative ease. The new system will allow the faculty to submit transfer requests to their current institution, and once the transfer is approved, they can officially join the new institution, ensuring that their teaching records remain up to date.” Real-time insights By linking the Aadhaar, the PCI is trying to ensure that every pharmacist is identified and associated with a specific workplace — whether a hospital, retail pharmacy, or academic institution. Anuradha Majumdar, HoD, Department of Pharmacology, Bombay College of Pharmacy, Mumbai, says, “This centralised database will not only serve as a verification tool but will also provide real-time insights into the distribution of pharmacists across sectors. Such data can be crucial during emergencies, central/state/ region/rural-urban-wise decision-making, while forming and implementing new government policies and methodologies in healthcare as well as in pharmacy higher education. 

It will allow the PCI to map specialised skillsets such as pharmacists working as teachers with value-added information on specialisations and research areas; pharmacists manning retail outlets, hospital pharmacies with expertise in intensive care units or those involved in advanced therapies like cell-based therapy or specialty areas enabling better utilisation of registered pharmacists as manpower. The step will generate a central pharmacist database covering all states.”

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.

DPEE to ensure quality of pharmacists and prevent misuse of DPharm course

DPEE to ensure quality of pharmacists and prevent misuse of DPharm course 

As the exam faces a delay, PCI will grant a one-year license to passouts to practice temporarily 

Priyadarshini.Gupta@timesofindia.com 06.01.2025

The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences recently announced the deferment of the Diploma in Pharmacy Exit Examination (DPEE) which was scheduled for October 2024. The mandatory exit exam, introduced through the Diploma in Pharmacy Exit Examination Regulations, 2022 by the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI), aims to ensure that Diploma in Pharmacy (DPharm) graduates meet the required educational and practical training standards before registering as pharmacists under the Pharmacy Act, 1948. 

Students belonging to the 2022-2023 academic year were the first batch required to take this exam. The first batch raised concerns over the examination fees for three papers and urged to reduce the number of papers to one. The exam will now be tentatively held by February-March 2025. To address the concerns of the students, the PCI has proposed reducing the exam from three papers to one and is awaiting approval from the Union Health Ministry. 

Recognizing employment challenges faced by students, the PCI has agreed to grant provisional one-year licenses to the 2022-2023 batch graduates. The licenses will enable the passouts to practice temporarily. It will allow students to enter the job market by applying in state pharmacy councils, and practice in government pharmacy shops temporarily. Despite being introduced in 2022, the exam's implementation has faced delays. Experts say that the exit exam is a positive move and will help curb mushrooming of DPharma colleges, improve the quality of pharmacists in the long run and ensure only competent professionals enter the field.

Montukumar Patel, president, PCI, says, “The introduction of an exit exam for pharmacists is a critical reform and will elevate professional standards. Despite sharing the exam draft regulations in the public domain for feedback, no objections regarding the fee or structure were received at that time. It is only now, the grievances regarding the number of paper and fee have started to come up. Implementation hiccups exist since we are holding the exam for the first time. Once the exam is conducted, the process will become smooth.” License renewal Despite the delay, the PCI will issue one-year provisional licenses to students to help them secure employment. “There is no limit on the number of attempts, the students must clear the exam before their licenses expire to continue practicing. Licenses will not be renewed unless one clears the exam. 

The move is also intended to curb the misuse of the course and licenses, where a few individuals used their qualifications merely to open pharmacy shops. The reform ensures that only competent and well-trained individuals enter the profession,” adds Patel. Furthermore, the exam serves as a tool to regulate the growing number of DPharm colleges, ensuring that only institutions meeting quality benchmarks continue to operate. The course is designed for class XII students with a science background, enabling them to complete the two-year program and enter the workforce, he adds. Daksh Bhatia, professor, KIET School of Pharmacy, says, “Earlier, we never had exit examinations. It was only in 2017-18, when the mushrooming of several pharmacy colleges started, that the need for exit exams was felt.” “The focus should also be on strengthening the quality of education in pharmacy colleges. Exit exams will motivate students to study diligently as they will be evaluated by a third party. Usually, most candidates want to enter the job market as soon as possible after completing a two-year course. 

The reform is expected to filter out unqualified candidates and discourage misuse of the DPharm qualification for obtaining quick licenses to open pharmacy shops,” adds Prof Bhatia.