Guidelines for Accreditation/ Recognition of

Bachelor of Pharmacy (B. Pharm.) Education in Public and

Private Universities

1. Curriculum
1.1 The B. Pharm. Curriculum should be designed to meet the current need of the
country's Pharmacy Education. It shall not be less than 156 credit hours and
shall not exceed 170 credit hours for 4 years Bachelor of Pharmacy course. And
for 5 years Bachelor of Pharmacy course credit hours shall not be less than 199
credit hours and shall not exceed 210 credit hours.

1.2 The curriculum should include non-pharmacy elective subjects such as English,
History, Bangladesh Studies, Social Studies, Computer Science, Health
Economics, Mathematics & Bio-Statistics.

1.3 All public and private universities should follow a standard unified core curricula
designed by the Pharmacy Council of Bangladesh. Additional elective subjects,
related to pharmacy education can be included with prior approval by the
Pharmacy Council of Bangladesh.
(Guidelines for M. Pharm. Course is described separately and can be obtained
from the Pharmacy Council of Bangladesh.)

2. Duration of the Course

2.1 Total duration of the Bachelor of Pharmacy (B. Pharm) course should be 4 years
full time, but 5 years full time course may also be offered with prior approval by
the Pharmacy Council of Bangladesh.

2.2 Each academic year should have only two semesters, Fall and Spring
semesters. However, yearly courses may also be offered.

3. Faculty Members
3.1 At the beginning, a new Department of Pharmacy must have at least 4 full-time
faculty members, of which 1 must be a Professor/Associate Professor.
3.2 The Head/ Chairman of the Department of Pharmacy should be a Pharmacy
graduate and having post-graduate degree in Pharmacy from any recognized
University/ Institution, preferably a Professor/ Associate Professor with at least 7
years of teaching experience in a recognized university.

3.3 For teaching pharmacy courses, all faculty members MUST be Pharmacy
graduates and having post-graduate degrees.

3.4 Ratio of Professor - Associate Professor - Assistant Professor - Lecturer should

be 1 : 2 : 4 : 12.

3.5 Teacher - Student ratio should be at least 1 : 15, including adjunct/ part-time
faculty, calculated on the basis of total students in the department enrolled.

3.6 Teaching/ Research Assistant(s) shall not be considered as faculty member(s).

4. Part-Time/ Adjunct Faculty Members

4.1 Part-time faculty members should not exceed 50% of the total teaching faculty.

4.2 The appointment and qualifications of the part-time/ adjunct faculty members
should be as per the rules and regulations of the University Grants Commission.

5. Faculty Members without Teaching Experience

5.1 Person(s) having no teaching experience at university level but possessing
relevant adequate experience in Pharmaceutical Sector may be appointed as full
or part-time faculty members for relevant subjects. But they must fulfill the
following criteria:

5.2 He/She must be a pharmacy graduate with post-graduate degree(s) from an

institution approved by the Pharmacy Council of Bangladesh and he/she must be
registered with the PCB.

5.3 He/She must have at least 6 years of experience in Pharmaceutical Sector in the
relevant department such as Production, Quality Control, Quality Assurance,
Marketing, Hospital Pharmacy, Regulatory Affairs etc.

6. Faculty Members without Pharmacy Graduation

6.1 The university may also employ full time medical graduates (MBBS) having post-
graduate degree(s) as teaching faculty for the following subjects:
 Physiology, Pharmacology, Pathology, Anatomy and Disease Management.
For non-pharmacy subjects, faculty members having post-graduate degree and
teaching experience as per the guidelines of the University Grants Commission
may be appointed.

7. Faculty Recruitment Policy

Recruitment procedure and qualifications for various teaching positions should
7.1
be as per the rules and regulations of the University Grants Commission.

7.2 Faculty members recruited for teaching the pharmacy core subjects MUST be a
registered Pharmacist.

7.3 For any temporary, short time or permanent appointment of any foreign national,
he/she should have approval from the relevant Ministry of the Government of
Bangladesh as a faculty member, and his/her credentials and academic degrees
MUST be evaluated and endorsed by the Pharmacy Council of Bangladesh prior
to the appointment.

8. Teaching Methods
8.1 The Pharmacy Council of Bangladesh will not approve any distant learning or
part-time courses.

8.2 There should be adequate theoretical and practical classes in addition to quiz,
assignments, presentations etc.

8.3 Adequate modern teaching facilities must be available to assist in classroom

studies and practical exercises.

8.4 There must be enough practical classes for every practical course to make the
students familiar with modern and sophisticated equipments/ instruments and
techniques.

9. Examination Policy
9.1 Examinations should be based on written, oral and practical assessments. The
Head/ Chairman of the Department, or the Course Director/ Coordinator with
approval of the Head/ Chairman of the Department, has the option to re-examine
any student at any time or to give the student any additional test or tests other
than those regularly scheduled, with the objective of arriving at a more accurate
evaluation of the student's academic performance.
 Examination materials will be retained by the Controller of Examinations/ Course
Director/ Coordinator/ Head of the Department until registration for the next
academic session and unless a grade appeal has been filed. All materials should
be retained as long as an appeal is in progress.
9.2 Marks Distribution
Mid Term 30%
Term Final 50%
Quiz 10%
Assignment and Class Attendance 10%
Marks of the quiz, assignment, class attendance etc. will be given by the
respective class teacher.

9.3 The Term Final Examination MUST cover the total approved syllabus of the
course.

9.4 There should be an Examination Committee to execute all activities related to an

examination of each semester. Thus all the semesters will have separate Exam
Committees.
Each Examination Committee will be constituted by the Academic Committee of
the respective department and that should include one external member as
nominated by the Pharmacy Council of Bangladesh.

9.5 The Examination Committee will be constituted of 4 members where there will be
a Chairman of the Exam Committee and 2 members nominated from amongst
the Academic Committee members of the Department/ Institute; and one
external member nominated by the Pharmacy Council of Bangladesh.
The Examination Committee will select examiners from a Panel of Examiners
nominated by the Academic Committee. The panel will be constituted with all the
existing teachers of the department and renowned personalities of the profession
of pharmacy having at least a Master degree.
The Mid-Term Exam for each course will be conducted and evaluated by the
respective Course Teacher. Term Final Exam of each theoretical course will be
evaluated first by the Course Teacher as Internal Examiner and then by a 2nd
Examiner nominated by the Examination Committee from amongst the approved
Panel of Examiners. In case of variation of marks on an average marks will be
taken.
 For Mid-Term Exam, the respective Course Teacher of that course will submit a
proposed Question Paper to the Examination Committee. In case of Term Final
Exam, both the 1st and 2nd Examiners will submit their separate proposed
Question Papers to the Examination Committee. The Examination Committee
will finalize the Question Papers for each course after moderation by the said
Committee. Final tabulation of marks will be done by 2 Tabulators nominated by
the Examination Committee. All these activities will be strictly confidential.

9.6 To achieve uniformity throughout the country, relevant grading system of the
University Grants Commission (UGC) should be followed.

10. Credit or Credit Hour

The term, sometimes referred to as 'semester credit' or 'semester hour', is a unit
of academic work. One credit is defined to require 50 minutes in class each
week for one semester (or the equivalent). One semester credit hour in any
academic course requires (i) 50 minutes in class each week for one semester
(which assumes approximately twice this amount of time in study and
preparation outside the classroom), or (ii) approximately 2.5 hours in laboratory
each week for a semester, or (iii) equivalent combinations of (i) and (ii).
For purposes of equivalency calculations, a semester is assumed to be of 18
weeks duration. Short term courses of one week (5 days) or more require time in
class, laboratory, and preparation equivalent to the above for a total of 40 clock
hours per 3 credits.

11. Student Admission Policy

11.1 Eligibility for admission in B. Pharm. Course:

i) Candidate must have a minimum aggregate GPA 6.50 in SSC/ "O" level
or equivalent and HSC/ "A" level or equivalent examinations (in a total
scale of 10).

ii) Candidate must pass SSC/ "O" level or recognized equivalents and HSC/
"A" level or recognized equivalents in Science Group and obtain a
minimum GPA 3.0 (in a scale of 5) without any additional subject.

iii) Candidate must pass HSC/ "A" level or recognized equivalent

examination with a minimum GPA 3.0 in Chemistry and Biology
separately and a minimum GPA 2.0 in Mathematics (in a scale of 5).
 iv) Candidate must pass HSC/ "A" level or recognized equivalent
examination in current year or one previous year.

v) Foreign students must have passed 12 education years and got same
grades in equivalent examinations from foreign recognized institutions.

vi) The student must pass HSC/ “A” level or recognized equivalents with the
following science subjects: Physics, Chemistry, Biology and
Mathematics.

vii) However candidates having no Mathematics at the HSC/ “A” level or

recognized equivalents may be admitted, but they need to take an extra
3 (three) credits course on Mathematics relevant to B. Pharm. curriculum.

viii) Admission should be based on competitive written test evaluations. In

addition to written test, an oral test may be taken for further assessment.

(Recognized equivalents mean Education Board, Madrasah Board and

Bangladesh Technical Education Board)

11.2 Each Semester/Year B. Pharm. Students irrespective of public or private

universities, MUST apply to get PCB Student Registration from the Pharmacy
Council of Bangladesh within three months of admission with requisite fee.
Such application in prescribed form to be submitted through the respective
University authorities.

11.3 Number of Seats per Semester

The number of seats per semester would be determined by the Pharmacy

Council in accordance with the relevant facilities available in the Department/
Institute. PCB will place particular emphasis on the availability of laboratory
facilities in that premise.

If any Department/ Institute is approved of 50 students per semester, a general

recommendation is that the Department/ Institute should follow that directive
strictly and by no means admit more than 50 students in that semester.

However, Departments/Institutes willing to admit more students should obtain

prior approval from the Pharmacy Council of Bangladesh.
12. Infrastructure for the Department of Pharmacy
12.1 Classrooms
There should be adequate classrooms, initially at least 4 dedicated classrooms
for the Department of Pharmacy, with a seating capacity of 50 students in each.
With the increment of the students, sufficient classrooms should be added.
The classrooms must be hygienic, wholesome and suitable for brainstorming
comfortably. All the classrooms should be equipped with OHP, multimedia, white
board etc. Sound system to be provided where necessary.

12.2 Laboratory Facilities

The Department of Pharmacy shall have AT LEAST independent laboratory with
the following laboratory facilities, each adequately equipped with instruments,
equipment, glassware, chemicals, reagents and Lab Officers/ Lab Attendants to
perform all the experiments defined in the curricula:
(i) Inorganic and Physical Pharmacy Laboratory
(ii) Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry Laboratory
(iii) Organic Pharmacy & Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory
(iv) Pharmaceutical Analysis Laboratory
(v) Physiology & Pharmacology Laboratory
(vi) Pharmaceutical Microbiology Laboratory
(vii) Pharmaceutical Technology & Cosmetology Laboratory
(viii) Biopharmaceutics & Pharmacokinetics Laboratory

As a guide to construct various laboratories with proper facilities, a suggested list

of necessary instruments can be found in the webpage of Pharmacy Council of
Bangladesh.

12.3 Laboratory Space

Each laboratory should be of minimum 500 square feet in area to hold a
minimum of 25 students at a time.

12.4 Instrument Room

There should be an instrument room properly and adequately equipped with
various instruments and equipments (Polarimeter, Colorimeter, Double Beam
 UV-Visible Spectrophotometer, IR Spectrophotometer, Gas Chromatograph,
HPLC, FTIR etc.), which are required for laboratory courses and research
activities.

13. Library Facilities

The Department of Pharmacy should have its own Seminar Library with a
seating capacity of at least 40 students at a time and facility to borrow books.
The library should keep enough copies of the latest books and journals related to
pharmacy.

14. Visit by the Accreditation and Education Committee

To ensure quality of education nominated members of the Accreditation and
Education Committee of the Pharmacy Council of Bangladesh may visit any
Department of Pharmacy at any time, with or without prior notice to the
Departments/Institutes to evaluate the existing conditions.