ISLAMABAD, Jan 1: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has agreed to the proposal that the four-year B-Pharmacy degree course should be upgraded to Pharm-D with a duration of five years.

The national curriculum revision committee (NCRC) of the HEC in a preliminary meeting also recommended that Pharm-D should be the first degree in the discipline of pharmacy being taught at the public sector universities.

The NCRC said the Pharm-D five-year curriculum approved by the Pakistan Pharmacy Council and agreed to by the NCRC would be considered as minimum standards and all persons holding B- Pharmacy degree should be given the opportunity to upgrade to Pharm-D if they so desired.

The NCRC said from 2005 there should be no admissions to B-Pharmacy degree programme. It said the one-year condensed course for B-Pharmacy for upgradation to Pharm-D level be designed by the relevant academic staff of each pharmacy department within four weeks.

M.Phil degree in various disciplines of pharmacy would be of two years duration after B-Pharmacy and Pharm-D, it added. The NCRC requested the HEC to forge liaison with federal and provincial governments for affiliation of hospitals with pharmacy institutions to impart training to students in the Pharm-D degree programme.

The HEC was also requested to introduce special quota of scholarships for teachers' training in hospital pharmacy. It was also recommended that the HEC through the ministry of health should persuade pharmaceutical manufactures to provide facilities for training to pharmacy students in industrial pharmacy as part of their curriculum.

Keeping in view the requirements of the newly-introduced Pharm-D programme, the HEC was suggested to approach vice- chancellors of all the public sector universities for upgradation of pharmacy departments by improving teacher-student ratio and material facilities.