KARACHI: Three students of the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology (FUUAST) were injured when a large piece of plaster chipped off from the roof of a corridor and fell on them on Wednesday.

The incident took place on the Gulshan-i-Iqbal campus. A video that went viral on social media shows a large piece of detached plaster lies on the ground on the campus as students pass through the corridor.

As the clip went viral, social media users were seen criticising the university administration for the “poor state of affairs” on the campus.

In the video, students could be seen taking the injured boy to hospital on their own claiming that the university management had refused to help them, saying “it is not our business”.

They added that when they went to the clinic on the campus to get the injured students treated, there were no medicine.

The students said the clinic staff told them that they could only prescribe them some medicine and X-rays, which they could get from the outside.

The students claimed that they were then asked to meet the FUUAST registrar regarding the matter, who, instead of helping them, reportedly said, “it’s not our business” and told them to leave.

The students said the BSc Block was in poor condition, and a similar plaster-falling incident had occurred in the recent past as well.

Responding to Dawn queries, A FUUAST spokesperson denied the impression of non-cooperation from the university administration.

The spokesperson added that Vice Chancellor Dr Zabta Khan Shinwari expressed regret over the injury of students in the incident.

The VC admitted that the university roof is in need of repair, and in this regard, he immediately instructed the registrar to ensure prompt repair of deteriorating roofs, the spokesperson added.

In a statement FUUAST Registrar Dr Sadia Khalil claimed that only one student had sustained minor injuries after which she immediately instructed the administration to send the injured student to a private hospital in a university vehicle for medical treatment.

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2025