The Secretary,
Pakistan Pharmacy Council,
Islamabad
Subject: Equivalence of M. Phil Pharmacy (Pharmaceutics, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Pharmacology and Pharmacognosy) to other allied health degrees
Sir,
Respectfully stated that candidates for the post of Assistant Drug Controller whose master degrees are not from the Pharmacy institutes have filed a case in the Lahore High Courts for equivalence of their degrees to that of M. Phil Pharmacy. To our knowledge, the Honorable Courts have directed the Punjab Health Department to refer this case to the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. This is an important matter that needs your kind attention and favorable action. A brief review of the matter is given as follows:
Background: The above stated posts were advertized by the Punjab Public Services Commission (PPSC) with eligibility as M. Phil Pharmaceutics/equivalents. Many applicants against this post were non-pharmacists/pharmacy graduates having masters from disciplines other than Pharmacy. The applicants except M. Phil Pharmaceutics were declared ineligible by the PPSC. Consequently, the sufferers filed their complaints to Department of Health Lahore and Higher Education Department, Punjab. As a result, a committee was formulated to ascertain the eligibility, and they invited three experts from pharmacy institutes including ourselves.
Decision of the Committee: All the experts and members of the committee unanimously decided that for the said post all the candidates having B. Pharmacy/Pharm. D with M.Phil Pharmacy (any of the four disciplines, i.e., Pharmaceutics, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Pharmacology and Pharmacognosy) from any HEC recognized and Pharmacy council-accredited university are eligible. This is in accord with the specified requirements of the post. By doing so, all the non-pharmacists or the pharmacists who have done masters in disciplines other than Pharmacy became ineligible.
Proposed action: You are requested kindly to inform all the heads of Pharmacy institutes that if they are called for their opinion on the matter, they should understand the needs of the post and that two masters may be academically equivalent but not professionally. The HEC should also be persuaded for the same and requested not to issue equivalence certificate of M. Phil Pharmacy and M. Phil in other subjects on the grounds that Pharm. D and MBBS can never be equivalent professionally though have the qualifications of equal number of years.
Looking forward for your necessary action
Prof. Dr. Taha Nazir B.Pharm., M.Phil., Ph.D.; President Pakistan Pharmacist Federation, C.: 0321 222 0885, E.: taha.nazir@uos.edu.pk, W.: www.pharmafed.com
Prof. Dr. Khalid Hussain B.Pharm., M.Phil., Ph.D.: University College of Pharmacy, University of the Punjab, Lahore
Prof. Dr. Nadeem Irfan Bukhari B.Pharm., M.Phil., Ph.D.; University College of Pharmacy, University of the Punjab, Lahore
Distribution:
President PPA Center, PPA Punjab, All Heads of Pharmacy Departments
Secretaries; Provincial Pharmacy Councils.
Chief Justice, Lahore High Court, Lahore, Pakistan
Najam Saithi; Care Taker Chief Minister, Government of Punjab, Pakistan