Six pharma colleges under lens in Punjab

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 25

The state Department of Technical Education and Industrial Training has narrowed down on six private pharmacy colleges that are suspected of making dummy admissions for two-year diploma course in pharmacy colleges.

There are nearly 90 pharmacy colleges, annually enrolling 6,000 students in two-year diploma courses.

Acting on feedback, Principal Secretary of the department Anurag Verma and Secretary of State Board of Technical Education and Industrial Training Rajiv Gupta got multiple checks conducted in colleges. They have also sought explanation from some colleges.

Already, two of these pharmacy colleges — Vinayaka College of Pharmacy, Lehragaga, and Vidya Jyoti College of Pharmacy, Kotra Lehal, Lehragaga — have been asked to stop their diploma courses, after they were allegedly found indulging in dummy admissions. Another college in Bathinda, under the scanner, has taken legal recourse.

Officials said as reappear exams in pharmacy colleges were over, the department would be beginning inspections in other colleges. In some of the cases, the college managements are running ITI and pharmacy courses. “Since the pharmacy courses are in high demand, some colleges were charging much more than the prescribed fee of Rs 30,000,” said an officer.