Help GIJ Complete its Project – Rector tells Government

The Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) has held its 12th congregation with a call on government and corporate bodies to assist in the completion of its new site and furnish it with a modern library facility.

The congregation, which was the first of its kind at the Institute’s new site, saw 870 fresh communications professionals graduating from the Institute of which 602 graduated with Bachelor of Arts in Communications and 268 graduated with Diploma in Communications.

Professor Kwesi Ansu-Kyeremeh, the Chairman of the Institute’s Governing Council, who made the call noted that although GIJ attained a University status two years ago, “no institution can call itself a University if it did not have a well-equipped library”.

He asked the government and corporate bodies to as a matter of urgency, assist in securing a modern well-furnished library and an administration block to complement the uncompleted structure at the Institute’s new site.

He said, “It may interest you to know that, our dear nation stands at a risky point in time to lose a huge chunk of history and heritage because there is no reliable comprehensive newspaper collection point”.

He said the Institute’s research indicated that that there was no such facility in the country, not even in any of the news organisations who produce newspapers, that has a collection of newspaper overtime adding that “we are actually ready with the design of the comprehensive national newspaper collection project for implementation”.

He called on the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who was guest speaker at the occasion, to assist the Institute to expedite action towards the completion of the facility at the new site.
The President Akufo-Addo in a response said the government had allocated GHC 5 million in the 2018 budget to assist the Institute towards infrastructural development at the new site adding that he was going to put in more effort to ensure that the funds were made available for the project.

President congratulated the graduates for going through the courses saying, “You deserve full credit for your perseverance and success,” urging them to guard against the risk of the journalism profession thus deliberate misinformation campaign and the risk of inadvertent misinformation.

He also used the opportunity to advice the students to bring to bear the experience they have gained in school to help society.

“As is unfolding before our very eyes on daily basis, this deliberate misinformation campaigns which in themselves are not new in politics and war have now gained added currency which the proliferation of media channels.

“This is not only the preserve of enemy states in times of war but has also now become a vociferous tool of political actors who aim to win public relations battles by fabricating or twisting facts and churning them out either through traditional media or new media channels as news,” he added.

“You should be the generation of Ghanaian media practitioners that refuse to be either victim or pawn and accept to travel down the path of genuine popular enlightenment which represents the strongest guarantee of our national independence and sovereignty.”