During the calendar year 2019, there were more than five universities where it was reported that students died due to various reasons. There was a news item about one of the federal universities where a female student fell from an under-construction block of the building. Then in another federal university, a student collapsed due to the non-availability of medical cure at the campus. A female student found dead in the hostel of the medical university in Sindh. There were also news items about students being crushed by University buses in Sindh. These incidents clearly show a lack of medical facilities and institutional capacity to deal with such situations.
Strangely, students who are center of all higher education institutions are mostly given less importance in terms of their wellbeing, academic, housing, transport, and examination related matters. Right from their first day at the institution, they are ragged by seniors, given a tough time by teachers in classes and compelled to follow unnecessary lengthy administrative processes for their routine matters of fee submission, library card, transport facility, hostel matters, etc. Lack of helpdesk and one window type facilities make them vulnerable to join student groups, establish relations with administrative staff or faculty members who used to exercise power in the university ecosystem.
In such circumstances, students get more vulnerable when there is no proper health insurance to cover their regular health needs and other emergencies. Mostly, all faculty members and other employees of the university are insured. The situation gets worse when some of the students fall unconscious during hot summer when there is no electricity and classes are in full swing or if hostel electricity bills are not paid in the university.
The foreign academic institutions require medical insurance at the time of admission, which is considered as the best protection measure from the regular illness of students as well as from any other health emergency which may occur during the academic year. Unfortunately, we have been more focused on spending on developing physical infrastructure and our spending on operational matters like transport, electricity, arrangement for examination, meetings are more than on the provision of facilities for students on campus or at hostels.
It is observed that mostly our policies for student welfare and wellbeing remain a low priority. However, all institutions would be looking for more student enrollment in different departments to collect more fees in various forms. As there is no limit for arranging exams for external or private students in most of the public sector universities, therefore, their target is nothing but to earn more money. The students, in turn, are given time and date to appear in exams, and they are asked to submit more payment for degrees, transcriptions, and other certificates.
As there is no effective mechanism to protect student rights; therefore, they continue to suffer. Universities need to develop a mechanism for safeguarding, facilitating, and supporting student rights in terms of academic, transport, hostel, and examinations. Although some universities are best in dealing with student complaints and queries, most of them will adopt an ad hoc approach to defuse the situation.
Strangely, students who are center of all higher education institutions are mostly given less importance in terms of their wellbeing, academic, housing, transport, and examination related matters. Right from their first day at the institution, they are ragged by seniors, given a tough time by teachers in classes and compelled to follow unnecessary lengthy administrative processes for their routine matters of fee submission, library card, transport facility, hostel matters, etc
Some large universities in the public sector have adopted a new way to extort money in the shape of transport charges, and the outsourcing way of working is again creating an opportunity for more corruption in fuel and operational expenses of the university. The staff of the private buses is careless most of the time, and female students are misbehaved, but they never speak out as their parents will stop them from attending classes. Drivers of private buses outsourced by universities are not professionals, and they even don’t wait for a second on stop for the student to get off the bus properly. Recently, such an incident happened in one of the public sector universities, and a final year student died on the spot.
It is the need of the hour to develop some policy at the national level as well as at the university level for insurance of students at campuses and hostels like the rest of the world. As the university takes preventative measures for its employees, i.e. faculty members and staff, students of the university deserve the same treatment. The panel hospitals are mostly selected for university employees, which may extend their services for students as well. The well-being of students is, in a way, securing our future.
The writer is deputy director, Higher Education Commission