RECENTLY, I attended a memorial event held for Sehat Khan, a student of Punjab University, who lost his life after having consumed contaminated water from the university’s hostel. Khan had come for academic purposes to Lahore from his hometown of Loralai in Balochistan. The failure of the university administration to provide basic facilities to its studnets cost him his life.

Doctors diagnosed hepatitis virus as the cause of his death. According to his close friend, who was with him during the treatment phase, the university hospital failed to diagnose the disease in time, and did not pay attention even when his health started deteriorating quickly.

Regrettably, the current case is not the first one related to the university and its failure to supply potable water.

Pakistan’s educational institutions are in deplorable state as no one is ready to behave responsibly even when thousands of young lives are involved.

Millions of rupees are allocated to public universities, but they fail utterly in the simple task of providing reasonable facilities to their respective students.

Every student deserves access to basic facilities. Federal and provincial governments should prioritise the health and wellbeing of students by framing and implementing relevant protocols.

M. Atif Nawaz
Lahore

Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2024