Pharma colleges will be ranked, rated by QCI; Pharmacy Council announces collaboration

NEW DELHI: Soon, pharmacy colleges will be rated and ranked by the Quality Council of India. The top regulatory body for pharmaceutical sciences, Pharmacy Council of India has announced that it will develop a “cutting-edge” ranking and rating system with QCI. The PCI has a new website with details on undergraduate (B.Pharma) and diploma (D.Pharma) programmes.

“The Pharmacy Council of India is revolutionising the ranking for pharmacy education institutes of India by shifting from a compliance-driven model to one that fosters a culture of excellence,” said the official orders.

This follows a similar move by the National Medical Commission which, too, has an agreement with QCI. So far, the education ministry’s National Institutional Ranking Framework was the only ranking agency for pharma colleges.

The process for ranking and rating of colleges and pharma courses for the 2025-26 academic year has already begun. Two different notices have been issued on the ranking of undergraduate and diploma courses for pharmacy.

B Pharma, D pharma Colleges: Ranking criteria

“The ultimate goal [is] of enhancing the overall quality of pharmacy education in India. To establish a robust and transparent assessment framework, PCI evaluated the assessment and rating ecosystem by pilot-testing draft criteria and parameters with select pharmacy institutes from different regions,” said a PCI notice from last week.

As per reports, these parameters include curriculum, teaching and learning environment; admission and competence of students; human resources; financial resources; assessment policy, research and perception, among others.

Institutions have to allow QCI assessors access to the campus for verification and adhere to the timeline for ranking.

The notice also stated that pharmacy institutes have to pay a “ranking fee” of Rs 50,000 (plus GST) for D Pharma courses and Rs 1 lakh (plus GST) for UG course to the QCI through an online mode.