WEED OUT UNACCREDITED JOURNALISM SCHOOLS

THE Northern Regional Branch of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has raised the red flag over the looming danger posed by the mushrooming of journalism training schools in the country.
A statement issued by the branch expressed worry over one such institution in Tamale because the school “had the potential to churn out mediocre products who could pose real danger to society as the institute did not have the qualified personnel to teach journalism”.
The Northern Regional Branch of the GJA is not a lone voice in this regard, as others have expressed disquiet over the mushrooming of journalism institutions and the large army of impostors who have invaded the profession.
The national secretariat of the GJA and lovers of democracy have also voiced out their frustrations at the sub-standard schools and their potential to undermine quality journalism if immediate steps are not taken to rectify the situation.
Another problem confronting media practice in the country is the tendency among media owners to recruit any school leaver to practise journalism. And because such employees are not qualified, they are paid very low remuneration, while some of them drag the name of the profession into the mud by fighting for what has become known in journalism circles as “Solidarity” or brown envelopes.
The liberalisation of the media landscape has made journalism practice a glamorous enterprise. Young people — from tertiary and secondary institutions — seek employment opportunities in media organisations such as radio and television stations, newspapers and online services.
The advent of other gadgets of communication such as mobile phones, laptops and personal computers has expanded the frontiers of media freedom and freedom of expression.
Presently in vogue in many emerging economies is what is known as citizens’ journalism, where ordinary people use all means available to them to gather information for established media houses.
But media practice has become more complex in view of the important role that journalism plays in the democratisation and development process. Indeed, the media are seen as the oxygen of democracy. That is why it is hard to think of a profession of greater public importance than journalism.
Journalism also provides independent information about government and other public office holders and, therefore, acts as one of the main checks on the powers of the state. Journalism monitors public accountability on behalf of the people, as enshrined in the Fourth Republican Constitution.
It is against this background that the Daily Graphic thinks that the National Accreditation Board (NAB) should do more to sanitise the system to ensure that only accredited institutions provide journalism training for young men and women desirous of using their pens to better the lot of their communities.
The NAB must assist parents who desire continuous education for their children to distinguish the “wheat from the chaff” so that trained journalists can be given the most powerful set of tools to help the people to make informed decisions.