PCI issues guidelines for institutions prior to commencement of inspection process
The Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) has issued guidelines for the institutions related to the inspection process for the academic year 2024-25, mandating that the students and the faculties should have their smart cards and the infrastructure of the institutions should have mandatory active Quick Response (QR) code at the time of inspection.
The PCI, which recently received a favourable order from the Supreme Court regarding extension of the date for approval and appeal processes for pharmacy institutions for the academic year 2024-25, has informed that it will start the inspection process of the institutions for the academic session at the earliest.
All inspections will be done through the mobile inspection application only as provided in the Google Play store. The Council requested all the institutions to follow the guidelines issued now, during the inspection and verification process.
According to the guidelines, all the students enrolled in the institutions should have mandatory attendance and all the students should have mandatory registration on the PCI portal. All students should have the Smart Card with them at the time of the inspection process.
Similarly, all the faculties enrolled in the institution should have mandatory attendance and all the faculties should be mandatorily present in the institution during the time of inspection process.
If any faculty is on leave, the leave letter has to be submitted to the inspectors and the same to be documented on the app along with the reason for absence. All the faculties should be mandatorily registered with the PCI portal. All faculties must also have their smart card with them at the time of inspection process.
“All faculties must carry their relevant documents with them at the time of inspection and verification process,” said the guidelines.
The infrastructure of the institution should mandatorily have active QR code for classrooms, laboratories, common facility, computer labs and other facilities, amenities, Master degree equipment, Bachelor degree equipment and others. All the equipment in the institution should have active QR code as mandatory during the inspection process.
If any infrastructure or equipment found without the QR code or the QR code not working at the time of inspection, the institutions are to be listed in the deficiency list.
Institutions must possess all the relevant documents with them as per information filled in the Standard Inspection Format (SIF) at the time of inspection and verification process.
These guidelines shall also be applicable for all other information in the SIF filled by the institutions, said the PCI.
The PCI has recently said that the date for approval process of pharmacy institutions and appeal process extended the last date for almost six months, following a Supreme Court order to this effect.
“The Hon’ble Supreme Court has extended the last date for completion of approval process of pharmacy institutions upto October 10, 2024 and appeal/compliance process till November 30, 2024 as requested by the PCI for the year 2024-25….” said the PCI in a circular.
The Supreme Court bench comprising Justice B R Gavai, Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, and Justice Sandeep Mehta has issued the order to the effect, on April 10, 2024.
The approval process has been initiated for schemes including D.Pharm, Bachelor of Pharmacy (B.Pharm), Master of Pharmacy (M.Pharm), Pharm.D and Pharm.D (Post Baccalaureate), and Bachelor of Pharmacy (Practice).
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