AWFUL SITUATION | QUESTIONS/OBSERVATIONS: Is the Bachelor of Pharmacy degree of the UoM worthless?
If the news that students who have invested four years of their valuable time for a degree to which the Pharmacy Board is refusing pre-registration to allow future pharmacists to undertake the mandatory practical year is true, this is not happy news for the University and its students. For we are saying the certificate obtained by the students is not worth the paper it is written on.
According to the regulatory body of the Pharmaceutical profession, the degree is not recognized because it has never endorsed the syllabus and the University has never informed the professional body of the contents of the course.
The introduction of university level studies in pharmacy in Mauritius has given rise to a number of controversies/reservations in the past among others: (i) Competency of the University staff to develop this curriculum and deliver the courses, (ii) Availability of training facilities, (iii) Competency to monitor the training and (iv) Content coverage of the Pharmacy syllabus.
A number of questions/observations immediately come to mind and these need to be addressed by the University, the Pharmacy Board and the students.
1. All reputable universities discuss the course content, syllabus, training facilities, availability of expertise and resources with the professional bodies before the courses are provided.
2. Did the University of Mauritius have the course approved and validated by the Pharmacy Board?
3. If they did and there were concerns raised, what did the University do to remedy those concerns? Also, why was the course started when the university should have known the degree will not be accepted by the Pharmacy Board for pre-registration?
4. Were there agreements between the two parties and the Pharmacy Board subsequently changed its position? If so, why?
5. Did the Pharmacy Board know of the existence of a BPharm course being undertaken by students at the University? If so, why did the Pharmacy Board not intervene?
6. What was the role of the Academic Board and why did it not spot this massive anomaly?
7. Who was responsible for running this course and why did he/she not address the important question of approval and validation before the course was offered to students?
8. Has the Pharmacy Board seen the content of the course? If so, when was the content of the course sent to the Board? If not, why was it not sent to the Board for approval?
9. What support measures will the University provide to students who have invested four years of their lives to a degree that does not allow them to exercise their profession?
10. What will the Vice-Chancellor do to assist the students and their parents? These students have lost four years of their precious time and resources working for a degree which may not be recognized for what it was originally geared for?
11. In an interview (24/06/12), the current Vice-Chancellor pointed out that there was justification for his appointment because unlike foreign applicants, he could speak Bhojpuri among other languages! Will he now talk to the people concerned in Bhojpuri to solve this problem? One wonders if Vice-Chancellors at the University of Mauritius talk to their students in Bhojpuri.
12. What will the politicians, especially the honorable Minister for Education do to remedy this awful situation?
13. What actions/strategies the authorities concerned will take to prevent similar situations from recurring?
14. The University of Mauritius is hardly classified as a top university in the world. Not many people have heard of it. What kinds of signals the University is sending to the outside world especially to those students contemplating doing a degree at the University? What will the new Vice-Chancellor do to enhance the University's reputation nationally and internationally?
Working in partnership is common and is the name of the game around the world. In the United Kingdom, it is agreed practices for Universities to have regular consultation with Professional Bodies so that needs are matched. This is not rocket science. This is pure commonsense. Why this did not happen in this case is beyond comprehension.
Let's hope the Pharmacy Board and the University of Mauritius find a workable solution to enable the students to start their pre-registration. Is it too much to ask the authorities to pin point what components of the course are lacking or need addressing and appropriate actions taken?
Commentaires
If I were in the shoes of the students, my first action would be to initiate a class action against the University of Mauritius. There is no other way to put enough pressure for the University to start a move about the situation.
If we only shout on the roofs, as the saying goes, "les chiens aboient et la caravane passe".
Students, you have been fooled. Now do't be fools, get up, stand up for your rights and fight back !
@Miki, Good idea. Now do we have a lawyer who would help the students initiate such an action? Because the students have indeed been fooled by the UOM and it should be the university which should take the steps to get it's degree recognised.
THE GOOD DOCTOR LIKES TO RAISE MANY QUESTIONS BUT IT DID NOT COME TO HIS MEDICAL MIND TO FIND OUT THAT ONE OF THE LECTURERS IN THE B.PHARM WA A MEMBER OF THE PHARMACY BOARD ITSELF ! IT SEEMS ALSO THAT A MEMBER OF THE PHARMACY BOARD WAS AMONGST THE COMMITTEE PUT UP TO ADVISE THE UNIVERSITY UPON THE OPPORTUNITY OF SETTING UP A B.PHARM. COURSE ON 4 YEARS, WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF A DIPLOMA AFTER THE FIRST 2 YEAR (A DIPLOMA WHICH HAS EXISTED FOR MANY YEARS AT THE UOM). SO WHAT IS ALL THE FUSS ABOUT? ARE MEMBERS OF THE PROFESSION AGAINST NEW MEMBERS JOINING THE PROFESSION, A SORT OF NUMERIS CLAUSIS??? GOVERNMENT SHOULD INVESTIGATE THESE VESTED INTERESTS AND TAKE THE APPROPRIATE DECISIONS CONCERNING THAT BUNCH OF CRIMINALS !!!
You are perfectly right I do ask a number of questionss. I like to find out what the problem is and where the source is to find a workable solution. Any professional will do the same. It did cross my mind to check if one of the lecturers was on the Pharmacy Board and one of the Members of the Pharmacy Board was at the Committe level. I wrote to the university and the Board to establish these facts. As is the case with any correspondence sent to organisations in Mauritius, I did not get a response and I did not include in my piece in case of libellious repercusions. But I am very plesed you have pointed this out for the readers and I am grateful. If what you are saying is true, then the situation is evn more awful than I had initially thought. Yes, severe punitive sanctions need to be taken.
I refer to the Q12: More precisely: What will the Minister for Tertiary Education do to remedy this awful situation?
To Monish Kevin
I find your comment patronising. When the author mentioned Ministry of Education, it is understood it includes not only Bunwaree but also Jeetah. If you are looking for an editing job, you have to look elsewhere. Your input does not make any contribution to the clarification and solution of the current problem which must be extremely traumatic for the students and their families.
The article, however, was an excellent one in defence of the hardworking students who may not be able to exercise their professions due to the terrible decision making process at the University of Mauritius. A number of questions have been raised and let’s hope these are addressed as soon as possible.
Dear Student.
Thank you for your reaction.
It seems you got me wrong.
First, I agree with Dr S Chumun’s article.
Second, it was not in my intention to act as a patron or as an editor.
Third, the author wrote in Q12: “….especially the honorable Minister for Education…”, not “Ministry of Education” as you said in your comment. I maintain: Jeetah is more directly concerned here. If you are one of the hardworking BPharm students, then I feel sorry for you and the rest, and I hope too that a solution will be found.
However, don’t let yourself be fooled in your innocence and immaturity by our decision makers. Try to ponder on the mess in which our WHOLE educational system is. CPE: Crime Pour Enfants. Massive private tuition. Cut-throat competition for star schools. High level of absenteeism in upper forms. Indiscipline. But at the end: low A-levels, in terms of contents and level…. Its effect is transferred to tertiary institutions including UoM. Any lecturer worth his name – if allowed to speak by the Vice Chancellor- can testify this. Dear Student, there is absolutely no strategy to make our island a real knowledge-hub. But so long as the institutions are making plenty of money on students’ heads or rather on their poor parents, this system will be maintained.
Some learn it the hard way…..
At one time, some said that the local University could not be compared since it was so well structured and advanced. Where does it stand now?
Spot on Doctor. If the Mauritius pharmacy doesn't accept the UOM qualifications would any other country or univeristy accept these to enable the students pursue further studies or a career elsewhere. Rather than the poor students fighting for their rights, shouldn't it be the UOM which should feel embarassed and ensure that its reputation remains untarnished. If we aim to achieve one graduate per household but that degree is recognised in Mauritius only and is no better than A levels of 20 years ago then I wouldn't want to be in the shoes of youngsters today.
I could not agree more. If the UOM degree is not recognised by the Mauritius Pharmacy Board, what hope is there outside Paradise Island? Thanks for your reaction.