Over 97% B.Pharm Lateral-Entry Seats Remain Vacant in Telangana
Hyderabad: Pharmacy lateral-entry admissions in Telangana recorded a poor response during the final phase of Telangana Engineering Common Entrance Test (TGECET)-2026 counselling, with only 32 out of 1,297 available B.Pharm seats being filled for the 2026-27 academic year.
Among pharmacy institutions, university pharmacy colleges filled only 18 of the 71 available seats, while private universities allotted just one of the 11 available seats. Private pharmacy colleges registered the lowest occupancy, with only 13 of the 1,215 available seats being filled.
The lateral-entry admissions are open to diploma holders and B.Sc. graduates who qualified in TGECET-2026. Despite thousands of candidates participating in the counselling process, the pharmacy stream witnessed significantly lower admissions compared to engineering courses, indicating limited preference among eligible candidates for lateral-entry B.Pharm programmes, reports The New Indian Express.
The low occupancy across university, private university and private pharmacy colleges highlights the continuing challenge of attracting diploma-qualified candidates to lateral-entry pharmacy programmes in Telangana. The trend also raises concerns about the utilisation of available pharmacy seats despite the growing demand for skilled professionals in the pharmaceutical sector.
