TN IPGA to approach state govt to fill vacant faculty positions in govt pharmacy institutions

June 21, 2023

The Tamil Nadu branch of the Indian Pharmacy Graduates Association (TN IPGA), in its soon to be held executive committee meeting, will deliberate on ideas to prompt the government to immediately address the challenges that have been faced by the government pharmacy colleges in the state due to vacant faculty positions.
 
The issues will be taken not only to the government level but also to the national pharmacy council (PCI) which is the statutory agency to advise state governments for smooth running of all pharmacy education programs.
 
According to office-bearers of the association, some of them were previously working as teaching faculties in the government institutions, this paucity of adequate number of teaching faculties undermines the quality of pharmacy education imparted by the government institutions in the state and hinders smooth running of the courses.
 
It is learnt that the government colleges of pharmacy attached to the medical colleges in Chennai and Madurai are conducting courses in pharmaceutical sciences from degree to postgraduate levels (B Pharm, M Pharm). Including the Madurai college, three government institutions, one from Coimbatore and another one from Tanjore, run the diploma course (D Pharm). All these colleges face acute shortage of faculty members for the last several years, observes the IPGA.
 
Some of the alumni of the College of Pharmacy in Chennai, who are the founder members of the pharmacy graduates association in Tamil Nadu, told Pharmabiz that they have sought appointments with the health minister, education minister, chief secretary, health secretary and the director medical education for separate meetings to discuss the issues faced by the institutions. According to them, the vacant faculty positions in all the four institutions are continuing for many years and they still remain as unfilled posts. Despite repeated submissions to the previous governments, no positive measure has been taken till date to solve the problems faced by the institutions due to faculty shortages, the association alleges.
 
According to information shared with Pharmabiz, the sanctioned posts of professors in the college of pharmacy in Chennai are four, but three posts are vacant. In Madurai, although no vacancy of professor post is there, there are vacancies of associate professors and assistant professors. In the diploma colleges in Tanjore and in Coimbatore, the number of sanctioned post of professors is one each, but they are vacant at present
 
The total sanctioned posts of associate professors in all the four institutions are 18, but only two have been filled up now and the remaining 16 posts are vacant. Colleges in Chennai and Madurai have the shortage of 12 associate professors, six numbers in each college. Diploma colleges in Coimbatore and Tanjore face shortages of one and three respectively.
 
In the case of assistant professors, the institutions in Chennai and Madurai have one vacancy each which are lying unfilled for the last several years. Since the institutions are under the government management all courses have sufficient students who are now becoming the worst lot due to lack of sufficient faculties.
 
In addition to the shortage of teachers, the colleges have no regular or independent principals. The charge of principal has been given to the senior most professors in each college. The last principal of the Chennai college retired voluntarily in 2013 and joined a deemed-to-be university. Since then the charge of principal is handled by the senior most professor. Same situation is prevalent in Madurai Pharmacy College also.
 
College of Pharmacy in Chennai is one of the oldest pharmacy institutions in India. Pharmacy education was started here in 1897 with a certificate course of one year duration called, ‘chemist and druggist course’ which was later abolished and started the two year diploma course in 1955.

PHARMABIZ.com