Pharma colleges ‘sold’ merit seats in AP

By Ayaan Khan

Throwing norms to the wind, pharmacy colleges in the state unilaterally increased management quota seats in the academic year 2008-09. As many as 25 colleges in the state had admitted students more than their permitted seats under the management quota.

According to the rules, colleges can make admissions under the management quota for only 25 per cent of the total seats. However, some colleges allegedly ‘sold’ seats up to 35 per cent, even usurping seats under the convener quota.

According to Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) officials, a Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) team during the mandatory inspection found colleges had indulged in irregularities. The council has already served show cause notices to these colleges. According to the council officials, majority of these colleges were minority institutions.

“The colleges will now have to take approval from PCI to admit students from the next academic year. Students who had already taken admission will not be affected by the decision. They will be allowed to pursue the course,” an APSCHE official said. However, the council members said the colleges could lose PCI affiliation.

Officials found around 450 seats might have been ‘sold’ as management quota seats by college managements for fee as high as Rs 91,000 (convener quota fee is Rs 30,200 per annum). The council said they found irregularities when colleges submitted the final list of students admitted by them.

Meanwhile, the PCI has said 75 per cent of seats in colleges would have to be ratified by them from the next academic year so that there will be no irregularities in the admission process. Till recently, the seats were being ratified by the universities concerned while approval for the course was granted by PCI.

The erring colleges, however, defended themselves before the PCI stating that they had sold seats left out after the counselling by the convener. “There is a provision to sell such seats as management quota seats,” they argued.

In its report, the PCI has said that the colleges had made admissions in these seats before the admission procedure for engineering and pharmacy began, which is an offence in itself. The seats were supposedly sold with the connivance of the Single Window-II (counselling for minority colleges) convener.

“The admissions were closed before merit students took admission in these seats after convincing the state council that the seats were filled by candidates from the merit list,” the official said.