AURANGABAD: The students of Government College of Pharmacy Aurangabad took out a rally to the district collectorate on Friday demanding the appointment of permanent faculty for the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm D) course. Other demands included the provision of pharmacist registration, degree certificate, stipend and resumption of scholarship.Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) gave the approval for the Pharm D course here in 2008, after several private colleges started the course. However, Aurangabad and Amravati government colleges of pharmacy are the only state-run institutes in the country providing the course since 2012-13.Two batches have now completed the course and currently a total of 320 students are pursuing the 6-year doctorate course in the two cities. Students say there are no opportunities created in government establishments for students finishing the Pharm D course.The aim of introducing the course was to create a cadre of clinical pharmacists.Student representative Ramprasad Nagare said students who have so far completed the doctorate are forced to work in unsuitable jobs. Many are underemployed as there is no dedicated department to which they can be hired. A department of clinical pharmacy must be created in government medical hospitals and colleges, he said, adding that this concern had been taken up with the director at the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE)Nagare said, “We were informed that in Mumbai they are coordinating with the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) to create the department in the GMCH.”On Friday, students said there was need for permanent faculty to teach the Pharm D course. “Sixth-year students go to the GMCH for internship. There is no one there to guide them. Permanent and qualified faculty should be hired to guide students,” Nagare said.

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