Pune, November 2, 2023: In an unexpected twist, this year’s admission process for pharmacy degree courses in the state of Maharashtra has witnessed a staggering 33 percent of available seats remaining unoccupied. This significant surge in vacancies, almost tripling the number of unfilled seats from the previous year, has triggered concerns regarding the future of pharmacy programs, echoing the challenges faced by engineering degree courses.
Pharmacy degree courses in the state have experienced a surge in student interest in recent years. The majority of available seats were typically occupied, and the course’s popularity only increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data provided by the State’s Common Entrance Examination Cell (CET Cell) indicates that last year, there were 36,888 seats available for admission in 396 colleges across the state, with 32,137 students securing admission. This left 4,751 seats vacant. However, this year, out of 42,794 available seats in 453 colleges, only 28,432 students managed to secure admission, resulting in a substantial 14,362 vacant seats. Despite the addition of 56 new colleges to the admission process and an increase of 5,906 seats, these measures have been insufficient to fill the growing vacancies.
Ramdas Jhol, President of the Association of the Management of Unaided Institutes in Rural Areas, has raised questions about whether the state government has devised a comprehensive plan for pharmacy courses. He suggests that the admission process for pharmacy courses should align with other medical programs such as BMSS, BHMS, Nursing, and Physiotherapy. Coordination with a uniform admission deadline could potentially help address the current situation. The rise in the number of colleges offering pharmacy degree and diploma courses, along with increased admissions, has sparked concerns that the pharmacy program may face a fate similar to engineering courses, which have an excess of vacant seats.
