PCI Crackdown: No Admissions at 128 D.Pharm, 48 B.Pharm Colleges in Maharashtra for 2025-26
Maharashtra
Mumbai: 176 pharmacy colleges in Maharashtra have been barred from admitting students for the 2025-26 academic year after authorities uncovered serious violations of Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) norms. The affected institutions include 128 D.Pharm and 48 B.Pharm colleges, many of which failed to meet basic safety, infrastructure, and staffing standards.
The Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) has issued show-cause notices to all 176 colleges, demanding valid compliance documents within a set timeline. Failure to comply could lead to revocation of university affiliations and a request to the PCI to withdraw approval.
This comes after the state conducted surprise inspections across colleges recognized between 2022 and 2025, following a high-level review on August 27, 2025, led by Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil. As per a recent media report in the Hindustan Times, investigators found missing fire safety certificates, inadequate laboratories, absent occupancy certificates, faculty shortages, manipulated building maps, and forged or incomplete document - all clear breaches of PCI's Standard Inspection Format (SIF). These lapses triggered an immediate freeze on first-year admissions.
Earlier, in July 2025, the government had issued a one-month ultimatum asking colleges to fix infrastructure and staffing gaps or risk exclusion from the Centralised Admission Process (CAP) for B.Pharm and D.Pharm courses. Institutions were required to submit detailed data on faculty, laboratories, classrooms, libraries, hostels, and other amenities. Despite this warning, many institutes continued non-compliance, forcing the state to take decisive action.
“Admissions for the 2025-26 academic year have been stopped for non-compliant institutions. If they still fail to comply with PCI standards and do not submit the required information within the stipulated period, the DTE will recommend cancellation of their university affiliations and request the PCI to revoke its approval,” Minister Patil was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times.
Students have already voiced mixed reactions, with many welcoming the clampdown as a step toward ensuring quality education and safeguarding their academic futures. The state government has published the full list of non-compliant colleges on the DTE website and advised students to verify college status before applying.
“Pharmacy institutions that have not fulfilled the mandatory requirements under the Standard Inspection Format of the Pharmacy Council of India will not be permitted to conduct admissions this year until they rectify the deficiencies. The list of such institutions has been published on the Directorate of Technical Education’s website, and students are advised to exercise caution while seeking admission,” Vinod Mohitkar, director of Technical Education stated.
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