A number of significant changes have been announced by the Pharmacy Council of Pakistan (PCP) with the goal of raising the bar for pharmacy education and strengthening regulatory supervision.

Vice President and PCP Secretary Sardar Shabbir Ahmed revealed that these choices were made at the Council's 62nd meeting last week. A prohibition on issuing No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to new pharmacy institutes is one of the PCP's major rulings.

The action was taken in reaction to the nation's growing pharmacy school population, which is currently at about 230, to maintain the emphasis on raising educational standards rather than increasing the number of schools.

It's expected that the number of pharmacists joining the workforce in the upcoming years will satisfy the present demand; nevertheless, Sardar Shabbir Ahmed warned that additional growth could result in joblessness in the industry.

The Council has made the important decision to digitize its whole database as part of its digital transformation. More efficiency and transparency will be ensured by processing all applications through a new online portal that is now under development.

Additionally, the portal will include detailed information on all recognized pharmacy institutes, such as the number of seats available, enrolled students, and faculty information.

He went on to say that this project will simplify regulatory procedures and give stakeholders access to real-time data. Additionally, the PCP is working to improve accountability and compliance in pharmacy schools. It has made the decision to hire a third-party company to monitor and evaluate compliance with operational and educational standards.

In the past, council members conducted these inspections, which frequently drew criticism for their lack of neutrality.

As stated by Sardar Shabbir, the firm's employment procedure will start this week and guarantee an objective evaluation of every institution. The PCP is keeping a consolidated database of faculty members to track adherence to staffing criteria in order to further oversee faculty standards.