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For the first time in India, a government university based in Guwahati in Assam has introduced entrance examination for admission to diploma in pharmacy (D Pharm) course along with the test for entry into the degree course, bachelor of pharmacy (B Pharm) from this year onwards.
Srimanta Sankaradeva University of Health Sciences (SSUHS), a state government university in Assam, has issued a notification in this regard which states that the combined entrance examination, both for D Pharm and B Pharm, will be held simultaneously on 25 June this year. Students can apply online until June 10, 2023 by filling up the application which is available on the SSUHS website.
According to sources, this is the first time a university or entrance examination commissioner of a state conducts entrance test for admission to pharmacy diploma course in India. Currently, entrance exam is held for the degree course (B Pharm) and it is conducted by the entrance examination commissioner under the higher education department in each state.
The association of government pharmacists in Assam, Association of Advanced Pharmacy Practitioners (AAPP), has informed Pharmabiz that they have approached the university and the government with a request to conduct entrance test for diploma course to increase the quality of pharmacy education in the state. Hailing the University for accepting their request, Gyanendra Haloi, general secretary of the association said he will forward his request to the other government university Assam Science and Technology University (ASTU) to introduce the system there also. He said most of the private pharmacy institutions are affiliated to these two universities and expressed the hope that since SSUHS introduced entrance test for diploma, ASTU would also follow the system without any pressure from anybody.
According to the notification issued by the SSUHS, they will conduct the common entrance exam both for D Pharm and B Pharm, and the admission process will be made on priority basis.
Welcoming the initiative taken by the university, a pharmacy academic expert from Kerala, Dr. KG Ravikumar has commented that entrance examination for diploma course will help increase the quality of education and all the universities in the country should follow the steps taken by SSUHS. He hailed the AAPP for their efforts in making the university introduce the common entrance test both for D Pharm and B Pharm.
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