7 new government pharmacy colleges to be opened in Rajasthan

Jaipur: Seven new government pharmacy colleges will be opened in Rajasthan under the medical college category. The State Government has sent a proposal in this regard to the Central Government’s Pharmacy Council of India, New Delhi. As per the proposal, the colleges will be opened in Ajmer, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Bikaner and Kota, Jhalawar along with SMS Medical college in Jaipur. This initiative will be supported by the Central Government.

Additional Director of Medical Education (Administration) Bachnesh Kumar Agarwal, has sent the proposal to the government. The Rajasthan government is now waiting for an approval from the central government. If everything goes according to plans, Diploma and PG Courses will be started in SMS Medical College Jaipur, JLN Ajmer, SP Medical College Bikaner, SN Medical College Jodhpur, Government College Kota, RNT Udaipur and Jhalawar. These colleges have buildings and lab staff to temporarily start the pharmacy colleges.

For the past 30 years, only one government pharmacy institute has been established in the state. In Jaipur, in the SMS Hospital Campus, a pharmacy institute by the name of Public Health Training Institute has been operational. Due to the government’s negligence and non-upgradation of the institute from a degree-granting center to one offering diploma courses, the Bachelor’s Degree students are forced to join private pharmacy colleges that are expensive.