India cracks down on fake pharmacist identities

The Indian government is taking steps to address issues in pharmacy colleges. The Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) has been asked to check the attendance records of faculty and students. This decision follows reports of people using fake identities to work as faculty. Many pharmacists were found to be creating phony profiles using the same Aadhaar or PAN numbers. This practice has raised concerns about the quality of education in private pharmacy colleges. The Union health ministry issued a notification allowing PCI to access digital attendance data through the Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS). A senior PCI official stated that there have been numerous violations regarding attendance and faculty presence. The council is determined to ensure high educational standards. They noted complaints about absent faculty and insufficient student attendance. Accessing attendance records is expected to help resolve many of these issues. Last year, the PCI approved 718 new pharmacy institutions and conducted nearly 2,000 inspections of various programs. India currently has over 5,600 institutions offering diploma courses and about 2,800 providing degree programs in pharmacy. Queries sent to the health ministry did not receive any response.