A Dow Medical College student has spoken out, revealing the terrifying reality hundreds of students faced on August 19, when torrential rains brought Karachi to its knees. Their account isn’t just a story of being stranded in a storm — it’s an indictment of how recklessly universities treated their students’ safety that day.
Despite days of weather warnings, Dow chose to carry on with lectures and clinical postings. While roads turned into rivers, students were still expected to show up for classes and ward duties. No emergency plan, no safety measures, no instructions — just silence from the administration.
The student recalled how many peers were stuck for as long as 19 hours, some still trying to get home at 4:30 AM, hungry, drenched, and cut off from their families. Female students were left navigating unsafe conditions late into the night, with zero institutional support.
Transport, predictably, was a nightmare. Dow’s point buses — already falling apart with cracked floors, leaking roofs, and makeshift repairs — broke down in the floods. Students had no choice but to walk over 15 kilometers in the pouring rain.
Tragedy struck when one father, attempting to rescue his daughter after the university transport failed, lost his life in the floods. That wasn’t a random accident — it was the direct consequence of negligence.
And yet, the university’s leadership stayed absent. By mid-afternoon, libraries were locked without warning, trapping students inside. Classes continued even as water poured into campus. No statements, no emergency hotlines, no welfare checks — just abandonment.
And this wasn’t limited to Dow. Students at NED University, FAST, and Jinnah Sindh Medical University (JSMU) went through similar ordeals — stranded in floodwaters, ignored by administrations, left to fend for themselves.
And here’s the uncomfortable question: How many tragedies will it take before universities in Karachi realize students are not just numbers on a roll call?
This wasn’t an unavoidable disaster. It was preventable. Emergency protocols exist for a reason. Weather warnings were issued well in advance. A simple suspension of classes and ward postings could have saved hundreds from danger. Universities could have prepared contingency transport plans, kept shelters open with food and water, and set up communication helplines. Basic crisis management — but apparently, that was too much to ask.
Education is supposed to nurture, not endanger. Yet in Karachi, when the skies opened up, our universities abandoned their own.
And so, as we mop up the floodwaters yet again, maybe we need to demand more than just lectures and degrees from our institutions. We need accountability. We need leadership that sees students as human beings first, not just liabilities or attendance figures.
The university administrations have yet to issue any comment on the matter.
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