NAGPUR, APRIL 6: The suspense over the fate of a full batch of B.Pharm students is not over yet as Nagpur University continues to wait for the directives it has sought from the state government.As of date, the enrollment forms of first year B.Pharm. students of Nagpur University's Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences have not been accepted either by Nagpur University or by the newly-established Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, Nashik.About a month back, the issue had figured prominently in the budget meeting of the university Senate. Vice Chancellor Dr Bhalchandra Chopane and Pro-Vice Chancellor Yoganand Kale had assured members that a clarification on the matter would be urgently obtained from the state government.Chopane had refused to act till he received directives from the government. Nagpur University has publicly made its stand clear that it does not want its department to be affiliated to the medical university at Nashik. Pro-VC Kale had expressed this stand in a meeting withsenior officials at Mumbai.Some students too had signed a statement demanding that the department remain with Nagpur University. There was confusion with some students claiming that they were taught the Nagpur University syllabus and the VC asserting that they had been taught the syllabus prescribed by the medical university.When contacted by The Indian Express on Monday, VC Chopane informed that the state government had still not sent any communication in the matter. He hoped that some communication would be received in ``two or three days.'' Meanwhile, a letter has been received from the medical university saying it will still accept the students' enrollment forms though the last date has long elapsed.In a statement issued here, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has condemned the attitude of university officials in the matter. They have alleged that the VC and Pro-VC even refused to meet an ABVP delegation which wanted a clarification on the fate of the pharmacy students.TheABVP has alleged that ``some people'' in the pharmacy department are resisting affiliation with the medical university for their personal benefits and thus harming the students' future.Advocating affiliation with the medical university, the ABVP has pointed towards the ``falling standards'' of the department while it is with Nagpur University. Of the 25 M.Pharm students of the department who appeared for GATE, only four managed to pass this year, says an ABVP release in support of its argument.In fact, the release adds, facilities in the university department, like laboratories, are in such a bad shape that it is not fit to be given an autonomous status like that of the UDCT, Bombay University, and SNDT, Mumbai.The ABVP has demanded that the university should act quickly to resolve the tangle and help the students plan their future.
