KUHS rules place B Pharm students in tough spot

Thrissur: The rules followed by Kerala University of Health Sciences (KUHS) are preventing B Pharm students from pursuing the course and attending examinations. The Pharmacy Council of India and the University have distinct rules, which means that students cannot attend fifth-semester classes unless they have successfully cleared the first and second-semester exams. Similarly, one cannot sit in the seventh-semester class without passing the third and fourth semesters.

According to the rules of the Pharmacy Council of India, which has approved the course at the varsity, a student should receive at least 40 per cent marks to pass the examinations. However, per the KUHS rules, students must achieve a minimum of 50 per cent to pass their exams, leaving around 2122 students facing a real dilemma.

Accordingly, students who are not allowed to attend the fifth and seventh-semester classes need to attend the same with juniors to complete their studies. With this, the students will take five to six years to complete a four-year professional course. For all other existing professional courses, a year back is implemented only in the final year, but for B Pharm, it exists in the 3rd and 4th year of the course. 

Despite raising numerous complaints, the students have alleged that the university has failed to take action in the matter. They point out that if the examinations are conducted immediately for backlog papers and results are promptly published, students can continue their studies in the same semester without losing attendance.