KARACHI:
Students from smaller cities and villages regularly move to cities like Karachi, Islamabad, and Lahore for higher education. Unfortunately, many students are oblivious to the dearth of reasonable accommodations in these cities. Most universities do not offer on-campus accommodations or residential facilities and seldom assist students in finding sufficient housing.
Resultantly, students are compelled to either rent rooms out in private hostels or via landlords. Despite paying exorbitant rents, students are faced with several problems. Having lived in a hostel myself, I can vouch for the various issues including in-access to broadband services, absence of clean water, sanitation, and security. Most hostels provide unhygienic food and there are no facilities for cleaning or maintenance. Often stray cats and dogs can be found wandering on hostel premises. In case of power cuts, students are forced to spend their days and nights in the heat and dark because most hostels are not equipped with generators. Much of the time, the hostels/accommodations are located farther away from universities because of which students have to travel long distances and spend hefty amounts on transportation.
Given these dire conditions, students are compelled to take on part-time work to pay their rent and afford other amenities. Considering that students are already under academic pressure, they must not be subjected to these constraints. The relevant authorities should consider the issue at their earliest and take measures to resolve it. Private hostels should be monitored and instructed to provide good facilities to students. Also, public universities should be facilitated to assist students in finding reasonable accommodations.
Jawaria Sajjad
Sukkur
Published in The Express Tribune, April 20th, 2022.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
