The state joint entrance board would draw up a separate merit list for BPharm aspirants next year to ensure that seats don’t remain vacant in the stream.

Till this year there were two merit lists — for engineering and medical courses. Those who made it to either or both could study BPharm, provided they scored at least 45 per cent in physics, chemistry and biology or mathematics in the plus-II exam. From this year, anyone on the BPharm merit list would be able to study the course if they meet the board’s marks criterion.

Students can make it to the medical merit list only if they score at least 50 per cent in physics, chemistry and biology in JEE, a stipulation that had disqualified many BPharm aspirants. The lowering of the bar will fill up many BPharm seats, hopes the board.

There are around 1,500 BPharm seats across the state, of which at least 20-25 per cent used to remain vacant, mostly in self-financing institutions.

The decision to publish a seperate list for BPharm cnadidates was taken at the board’s academic committee meeting on Friday.

“Many BPharm aspirants study physics, chemistry and biology in Plus II and try to make it to the medical merit list. But the Medical Council of India rule states that a student’s name would figure on the merit list only if he or she scored at least 50 per cent in physics, chemistry and biology in JEE. Several BPharm applicants failed to make the cut because of this condition,” said JEE board chairman Bhaskar Gupta.

A board member said any candidate scoring the minimum positive marks 0.33 in physics, chemistry and biology/mathematics each would be eligible for studying pharmacy next year.

Jadavpur University, however, would admit those students to the BPharm course whose names also figure on the engineering merit list.

“Our course is called pharmaceutical engineering and it has a significant engineering component. So we will take those students whose names figure on the tech list as well,” said a JU official.