Work on pharmacy college in Gulbarga gaining momentum

158 teaching and non-teaching staff needed for the institution

(From left) S. Ramananda Shetty, Vice-Chancellor, RGUHS; Wayne A.I. Frederick, president of Howard University, U.S.; Raghuram Bhandary, State Drugs Controller, and Premkumar Rajagopal, Vice-Chancellor of AIMST University, Malaysia, at a the convention of the Indian Association of Colleges of Pharmacy in Bangalore on Friday. Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.

The State government’s proposal to set up a pharmacy college in Gulbarga has gained momentum and land for the proposed institution has been acquired, State Drugs Controller Raghuram Bhandary has said.

He was speaking at the inauguration of the Indian Congress of Pharmacy Practice 2014 and convention of the Indian Association of Colleges of Pharmacy here on Friday.

“We need at least 158 teaching and non-teaching staff for the college and these posts will be created soon. This will be the second government pharmacy college in the State,” he said.

With an increasing demand for pharmacy courses, this college will be a boon to students from the six backward districts of north Karnataka.

“There is a need for a second government college of pharmacy in the State. This facility will provide students, especially girls, with access to affordable education. Although there is a major presence of private pharmacy colleges in north Karnataka, a government institution with a lower fee structure will benefit students from the economically weaker sections,” he said.

The first government pharmacy college located in the city is a 50-year-old institution. The government had sanctioned Rs. 1 crore for setting up the second college, the Drugs Controller said.

Dr. Bhandary said there was a need to strengthen community pharmacy, and the government’s focus now was on regulatory mechanisms. This would put in place better healthcare delivery systems, he said.

B. Suresh, president of the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) and Vice-Chancellor of JSS University, Mysore, said the PCI, with approval from the Union government, introduced a six-year Pharm.D. programme in 2008 to strengthen the professional competencies of Indian pharmacists.

The inaugural of the Indian Congress of Pharmacy Practice coincided with the graduation of the first batch of Pharm.D. students, he said.

Making a presentation on ‘Pharmacy practice education in India: experiences and roadmap’, Dr. Suresh said there was a need to establish collaborative networks among scientific leaders for a synergy among diverse areas of pharmacy practice.

Wayne A.I. Frederick , president of Howard University, U.S.; K. Chinnasamy, professor emiritus, JSS College of Pharmacy; S. Manivannan, Deputy Drugs Controller of India, and Premkumar Rajagopal, Vice-Chancellor of AIMST University, Malaysia, also spoke.