Egypt's House of Representatives has approved a government-proposed amendment to the Pharmacy Practice Law, introducing a compulsory one-year training period for pharmacy graduates amid limited calls to lift state-imposed custodianship of the Pharmacists Syndicate.
The new legislation requires holders of a pharmacy bachelor’s degree to complete a year of mandatory internship before registering with the Ministry of Health. In addition, applicants must pass an exam administered by the health council to obtain a professional license to practice pharmacy.
The draft law aims to separate academic study, through which students obtain a bachelor's degree, from the mandatory internship completion certificate. This certificate would be granted upon finishing the compulsory training period after university graduation. The objective is to achieve equality among pharmacy college students and their counterparts in other health sector colleges in Egypt.
According to the new amendments the training will take place in approved university hospitals, other hospitals, pharmaceutical institutions, or training units accredited by the Supreme Council of Universities after the Supreme Council of University Hospitals' approval. Alternatively, training can occur in units affiliated with the Ministry of Health and Population.
Supervision during the internship will be provided by faculty members of pharmacy colleges or individuals nominated by the Supreme Council of Universities and approved by the Supreme Council of University Hospitals and the Supreme Council of Universities. These supervisors will include pharmacists and physicians from the aforementioned hospitals and units, operating under regulations issued by the Minister of Higher Education in agreement with the Minister of Health.
During the session, parliament rejected a proposal by MP Ahmed Hamdy Khattab to raise the monthly stipend for trainees in line with the national minimum wage.
Instead, lawmakers approved a fixed monthly training allowance of 2,500 Egyptian pounds (approximately $50), subject to increase by prime ministerial decree upon the recommendation of the Minister of Higher Education or, in the case of Al-Azhar institutions, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, with the approval of the Minister of Finance.
Although the main focus of the session was the internship requirement, a few MPs took the opportunity to raise the issue of lifting judicial custodianship from the Pharmacists Syndicate.
"Lift the custodianship over pharmacists," MP Bahgat Al-Sann urged during his speech.
MP Ahmed Hamdy Khattab echoed the sentiment, saying, "It makes no sense for a historic syndicate like the Pharmacists Syndicate to remain under custodianship for seven years."
This form of custodianship, known in Egyptian law as judicial sequestration, grants court-appointed administrators authority over a syndicate's finances, operations, and internal governance. It is typically imposed when there are allegations of internal corruption, mismanagement, or disputes that paralyze a union's function.
In the case of the Pharmacists Syndicate, the 2019 court ruling followed lawsuits accusing the syndicate's leadership of administrative and financial irregularities, leading to the suspension of internal elections and the appointment of a judicial committee to assume control.
During the session, MP Mohamed El-Wahsh, Deputy of the Parliamentary Health Committee, and Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar, both voiced concern over the oversupply of pharmacists relative to the population and market demand.
"Egypt currently has enough pharmacists to serve a population of one billion," El-Wahsh warned, urging families to consider job market realities when choosing academic paths for their children.
Echoing that concern, Abdel-Ghaffar said the pharmacist-to-population ratio in Egypt is four times the global average. MP Magdy Malak also noted the poor distribution of pharmacists nationwide, citing a shortage of 92 pharmacists in the public health insurance system in Minya Governorate alone.
