High fees forcing students to go to places like Ukraine: SC

High fees forcing students to go to places like Ukraine: SC
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NEW DELHI: Education has become a big industry in the country and students, who cannot afford to pay the high cost of medical courses, are going to countries such as Ukraine, said the Supreme Court on Tuesday. The observation came months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine forced India to evacuate about 20,000 Indian students from the war-torn country. It was made while the court was hearing a batch of petitions asking the Centre to process applications for setting up new pharmacy colleges.

In 2019, the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) imposed a five-year moratorium on setting up new pharmacy colleges to curb mushrooming of such institutes.

The Centre and PCI have backed the moratorium even as the high courts of Delhi, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh have struck it down. PCI’s appeals against the high court orders are pending in the Supreme Court.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who represented the Centre and PCI, said there are over 2,500 pharmacy colleges. “Look at the phenomenon existing in the country. Here are colleges telling this Court that they have lost two years [as the moratorium came into effect from the academic year 2020-21]. I can understand students taking this plea but these colleges are industries. Since there was mushrooming of these colleges, we imposed a five-year moratorium. This Court knows how engineering colleges were being run as shopping centres.”

A bench of justices BR Gavai and Hima Kohli agreed with Mehta. “We also appreciate mushrooming of colleges.” But it allowed the request of pharmacy colleges to have their applications processed till the time the court considers PCI’s challenge to the orders of the high courts setting aside the moratorium.

The bench direct PCI to accept and process the applications of colleges, who were the petitioners before the high courts. “…but no final decision on approval or non-approval will be taken …”

The court issued notices on petitions of pharmacy colleges seeking fresh permission to start colleges before the beginning of admissions next month.

Advocate Sidharth R Gupta, who appeared for one of the petitioners, cited the Chhattisgarh high court’s February 24 order setting aside the moratorium and said PCI was bound to consider fresh applications for colleges.

Mehta informed the bench that PCI will challenge the Chhattisgarh high court order. But the bench noted in over 15 appeals arising from the Delhi and Karnataka high courts’ orders, PCI submitted its response and the same could be taken up for hearing. The bench posted all matters for consideration on July 26.

PCI imposed the moratorium banning applications for any new pharmacy institutes, citing the number of such colleges and their annual intake of students. It said the available workforce of pharmacists was sufficient to meet the country’s needs. PCI later exempted certain categories of institutions, which included government colleges in north-eastern states.

The petitioners have challenged the exemption. “This goes on to show that this has created a glass ceiling or an artificial discrimination between category of institutions identically situated,” said one of them.

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