HYDERABAD:Vice Chancellor Sindh Agriculture University Tando Jam Dr Fateh Marri on Monday said due to heavy rains in Sindh, the students studying in different universities of the province would be affected, as poor families would not be able to pay the fee of their children.
Therefore, the future of more than 0.1 million children was at risk, he said.
The vice chancellor expressed such fear while talking to media persons during his visit to the free veterinary medical camp for rain-related diseases in cattle. The camp has been set up by the Faculty of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences of the university.
He said the university management was in contact with various institutions, including the federal, provincial governments and the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to increase the number of student loans, Qarz-e-Hasna and scholarships for poor and affected students so that they could continue their education.
He said an online conference would be held in which experts from Sindh Agriculture University and IBA Karachi would present their papers on joint suggestions to solve the issue.
Dr Fateh said that as a result of recent heavy rains, the agriculture of Sindh was seriously damaged, especially the cotton crop had been destroyed.
“In the coming cotton season, we will not even be able to get cotton seeds, while we will have to import cotton for our textile industry.
“Shortly we will have to face various problems including lack of certified seeds of wheat, vegetables, and other crops. Therefore we will have to give importance to alternative crops,” he said.
He emphasized that the experts should play responsible role to bring the farmers and livestock owners out of the economic crisis.
He further said that the university’s veterinary experts had been diagnosed with skin, stomach and other diseases.
Dean Faculty of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences Dr Syed Ghiyasuddin Shah Rashdi, Dean Faculty of Social Sciences Dr Aijaz Ali Khoharo, Dr Bachal Bhutto, Dr Abdul Latif Bhutto, Dr Ahmad Nawaz Tunio, and others were also present on the occasion.