MP Pharmacy Education Crisis: Over 16,000 B.Pharm, D.Pharm Seats Vacant Amid Low Admissions
Bhopal: Alarm bells are ringing in Madhya Pradesh as more than 16,000 seats in B.Pharmacy and D.Pharmacy courses remain unfilled, raising urgent questions about student interest, institutional appeal and policy gaps. The state's Technical Education Department has launched second-phase counselling and is scrambling to boost choice filling by October 7.
According to a recent media report in Naidunia, in the first round, roughly 14,000 students were allotted seats out of a total 28,820 seats. Yet, about 7,802 seats in B.Pharm and 8,849 seats in D.Pharm lie vacant. To mitigate this, college-level counselling (CLC) will be held, and students will be allowed multiple rounds of online registration between October 17–30.
Worryingly, 53 colleges did not secure a single admission in either pharmacy course during the first round. In such institutions, even the second round is seeing weak response, highlighting deep cracks in demand. The department is conducting counselling in 179 B.Pharmacy colleges (≈16,640 seats) and 194 D.Pharmacy colleges (≈12,180 seats) to try and fill the gaps.
Students must complete choice filling by October 7. The merit list will be declared on October 8, followed by seat allocation on October 11. Finally, between October 16–22, candidates must reach their allotted colleges and complete admission formalities.
In the first phase, B.Pharm saw 8,838 admissions and D.Pharm saw 3,331 admissions—far short of capacity. Now, the vacant seats will be allocated via CLC across colleges willing to admit students beyond the standard allotment.
The alarming scale of unfilled pharmacy seats across Madhya Pradesh signals an enrolment crisis in the state’s pharmaceutical education ecosystem, reports Naidunia.
