INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
KATHMANDU, JULY 10A total of 63 Nepali Pharm.D degree holders from India have been struggling since 2014 to obtain TU
equivalence certificate."TU is not ready to recognise our degrees as PhD due to its outdated procedures
We are compelled to leave the country due to the equivalency issue," they said.Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm
D) is a professional six-year pharmacy course (integrated undergraduate and postgraduate course) approved by the Pharmacy Council of India
designed to meet the clinical needs and improve healthcare delivery system.
However, Tribhuvan University's Curriculum
Development Centre has refused to recognise the course as a postgraduate level course
This has denied hundreds of students the TU equivalence certificate
Many of them have already left the country due to lack of recognition of their academic status.Currently, more than 100 Pharm
D graduates from India are struggling for their right to education enshrined in the constitution due to the outdated and unscientific system
of degree equivalency in Nepal.Dr Sharad Chand, Pharm
D., PhD, took all the official documents from the PCI gazettes and universities
Despite going through the equivalent procedure, TU refused to recognise the degrees
Dr Chand personally visited the Institute of Medicine and TUCDC 40 and 60 times respectively
He followed the entire process and came to know that IOM has given technical approval to recognise the degree as equivalent to the
master-level course.However, the board meeting headed by the director of TUCDC refused to issue equivalence document
After a struggle of 5 to 6 months, TU gave him a document as Pharm
D (postgraduate degree) equivalent to Pharm
D and advised him to apply for his Ph.D equivalence
He left the valley thinking that he had obtained TU equivalence certificate
However, after a few weeks, TU released a notice in Gorkhapatra (still available in the notification section of TUCDC) stating it was
released mistakenly.A recent visit of his family members to TUCDC was also fruitless as they mentioned that the candidate should be
Previously, TUCDC had said that the original certificate would suffice and there was no need for the candidate to be present
Earlier, TU mentioned that he was a postgraduate and could apply for PhD
He went through the entire process
But now TU says, "Your documents are not eligible to apply for PhD as it is not equivalent to master's degree."A group of Pharm
D students have asked, "Why is TU playing a dual game and ruining the lives of hundreds of students? Who is responsible for the graduates'
loss? Who is going to monitor this rudimentary system at TU? How long do we need to fight? Why this type of monopoly in TU? Why can't I get
my equivalency in my state?"They also said, "TU must amend its equivalency procedures and save our education system."Dr Chand said, "There
are a lot of questions that need to be clarified by TUCDC to compensate for our loss.""Why is TUCDC destroying the career of educated
youths? TU says PG is not a master's degree
Their logic is that we have a PG diploma but not a master's diploma
D is recognised as a postgraduate programme in India and other parts of the world, what is the logic behind TUCDC's decision to reject Pharm
D as a postgraduate degree?TU only has bachelor-level course (B Pharm) in pharmacy at IOM
I do not know how they arrange manpower to review our master's and PhD
They say there are no integrated courses in Nepal
If so, how can they proceed with our document? Don't we want to update and amend our education system? They argue that Pharm
D PB is there in Nepal (KU) and Pharm
D is a PG course not a master's
Is there any difference between PG and master's in Nepal's education policy? If yes, is it standard?We have an independent Nepal Pharmacy
Council looking into the pharmacy profession
They take money from students in the name of registration and conduct licensure examinations
Why are they silent on this matter?How can a university ranked nowhere in the top 1,800 globally, assess the quality of top universities in
the 1000s list with outdated and unscientific measures? If equivalency should be based on the number of credit hours and years of course
study, then we are eligible for the PG equivalent.Can TUCDC tell us on the basis which scientific criteria they are rejecting our degree?
All required documents and gazettes were produced, but they still refuse to accept our degree
We are ready to produce all the documents if they want some additional documents according to their criteria
At least, tell us what you want from us."A version of this article appears in the print on July 11, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://thehimalayantimes.com
