LAHORE: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has held a meeting of the heads of private sector universities to seek suggestions for providing immediate, short-term and long-term support to the flood victims.

“Being a beacon for society, the universities have a great role to play in presenting viable solutions to the problem of floods and other natural challenges being triggered in Pakistan by climate change,” emphasised HEC chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed while addressing the session.

More than 90 vice chancellors, rectors and senior officials of the private sector universities attended the meeting and shared their experiences and views on how they were responding to the prevailing catastrophic situation to help the flood-affected people, by supplying edibles and necessary items, providing medical aid, and extending voluntary services of students and staff.

Highlighting their respective contributions for the flood-hit areas, they said the Association of Private Sector Universities (APSU) of Pakistan and the Pakistan Association of Private Medical and Dental Institutions had jointly launched the Mission ESSAR Flood Relief Fund 2022 in collaboration with the Superior Foundation for Research & Development (SFRD) to reach out to academic institutions, industry and general public to come forward to provide relief to the flood-stricken areas.

They said the private universities were individually and collectively involved in relief efforts, while APSU had been providing food, medicines, drinking water, tents, and packets for women’s needs.

The heads of private universities vowed to stand by the nation in this hour of need and cooperate with the public sector universities in line with the HEC National Floods 2022 response.

A number of private universities pledged to offer scholarships and stressed the need to conduct research and develop a long-term strategy for rainwater harvesting, prevention of floods, and against deforestation.

Dr Mukhtar Ahmed appreciated the efforts of the private sector institutions for their efforts in the time of need. He underlined that the higher education sector needed to collectively respond to the calamity and help the flood victims across Pakistan without any discrimination.

He pointed out that the challenge of floods and the resultant damages needed immediate, short-term and long-term solutions. He explained that the people of affected areas needed food, water, shelter and clothing to be provided immediately. He urged the medical universities to manage psychological counselling of people suffering post-flood traumas.

Earlier, HEC Executive Director D. Shaista Sohail and Adviser (Coordination) Awais Ahmed shed light on the decisions taken in the meeting of the public sector universities’ heads held on Aug 29. They said the universities had been divided into four clusters, covering the areas of engineering, agriculture, medial, and livestock to jointly work and come up with proposals to better cope with the challenges of climate change in future.

They said that the universities’ faculty and staff would donate their one-day salary to the flood victims.

The HEC held a similar meeting with the vice chancellors of the public sector universities earlier on Monday.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2022