Inter Vocational Course Candidates Can Practice as Pharmacists: HC

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has directed the Telangana Pharmacy Council to register a bunch of students, who had joined in diploma in pharmacy before 2020, with the basic qualification of Intermediate (vocational course) as pharmacists.

Actually, the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) does not recognize the certificate of Intermediate (vocational course) examination as a minimum qualification for admission to diploma in pharmacy part-I. Regulation 5(5) of the Education Regulations, 1991, provides the examinations with Physics, Chemistry, and Biology or Mathematics as valid qualifications for admission. Only the Intermediate exam in science or the first year of the three-year degree course in science or 10+2 examination (academic stream) in science or pre- degree examination or any other qualification approved by the PCI as equivalent to any of the above examinations may also be considered as a minimum qualification.

In this regard, the national council had in 2011 issued a circular stating that the medical laboratory technician (MLT) and bridge course conducted by the Board of Intermediate Education is not approved by the PCI under Regulation 5(5) of the Education Regulations, 1991, for admission to diploma in pharmacy.

Despite that, students with vocational/bridge courses have completed B. Pharmacy courses. On February 10, 2020, PCI wrote to Telangana and AP state pharmacy councils that intermediate vocational courses and bridge courses were not approved for the purpose of admission to pharmacy courses.

Hence, the High Court has given one final chance so that students who had joined before February 10, 2020, shall be registered as pharmacists.