G .I .J STUDENTS DESERVE BETTER

 

Ghana institute of journalism is undoubtedly Ghana’s foremost, renowned and leading communication training institute which produces journalists, PR practitioners and other communication specialists for the media industry in Ghana and beyond.

This exhibition of excellence in the delivery of its core mandate to the people of Ghana has resulted in the production and discovery of stupendous alumni which includes; Kwesi Pratt Jnr(Editor, The Insight Newspaper), Kwaku Sakyi-Addo(Head, Telecoms chamber, Ghana), Ibrahim Awal (Former MD, Graphic communications Group Limited ,and Publisher of the Finder Newspaper )  ,Anas Aremeyaw Anas(Multiple Award- Winning investigative journalist), Gifty Anti ( News Anchor, GTV), Ransford Tetteh(GJA President, and Editor of Daily Graphic),Andrews Awuni(Former Press Secretary to Former President J.A Kuffuor) and a host of others.

Undoubtedly, these alumni have exhibited excellence in their various fields of Endeavour, to the extent that some of us, if not all looked up to them before considering GIJ as a place to further our education. Rather unfortunately, recent events emanating from this  renowned institute ,if care is not taken will dash away the hopes of hundreds of potentially good materials from pursuing courses in this institute obviously because of funding.

I write this article with a heavy heart, but all the same to add my voice to the numerous concerns raised by students, parents, guardians and alumni of our dear institute with regards the high rocketing fees been paid by students, particularly fee-paying students for the 2012/2013 academic year.

Indeed, this issue I am putting across is my candid opinion on genuine concerns raised by students of this institute. I therefore do not expect to attract odium for merely expressing my candid opinion on issues affecting the generality of GIJ students as it’s an extension of our intellectual discourse.

Frankly speaking, the review of the fees for the academic year 2012/2013 raises fundamental concerns of unfairness, which I will subject to scrutiny in the paragraphs that follow.

First, there is no denying the fact that, L 200 and L 400 fee-paying students are paying Gh₵1,700 as against Gh₵ 748 and Gh₵ 400 by the regular L 200 and L 400 students respectively. Equally imperative, is the fact that Diploma 2 fee-paying students are paying GH₵ 1,400 as against GH₵693 by the regular diploma students.

It is also worrying, that in a little under 12 months, fees of L 100 students have shot up astronomically from GH₵ 1,700 -1,800 for fee-paying students and from GH₵ 800-900 for regular students and from GH₵ 1,400-1,500 for diploma fee-paying students as against GH₵ 700-800 for regular diploma 1 students.

Comrades of our great institute, having laid bare some of the legitimate concerns with regards our financial obligation to GIJ , am pretty sure majority of you will agree with me that its time pragmatic measures are put in place to curtail these draconian policies ,which have become an albatross on the neck of GIJ students. Obviously money is hard to come by these days, and I can only imagine what is going through the minds of many of you, particularly fee-paying students. Sadly! The troubles of the last semester are not yet over, but just beginning.

My fellow compatriots, a careful perusal of the fees, equally reveal a dangerous attempt to discriminate against a section of GIJ students. Indeed, I cannot fathom why regular students are enjoying a drastic reduction in their fees whereas fee-paying students are not enjoying the same relief. For example L200 regular students are benefitting from a whopping GH₵ 52.00 reduction where as fee-paying students are not enjoying even a pesewa reduction. Honestly, this is unfair, discriminatory and to a larger extent STRANGE!  This is obviously very strange, if for nothing at all, L100 (now L200) fee-paying students were supplied I.D  cards under the same cost structure last year ,which they are not paying for again and thus, should enjoy some relief . That notwithstanding, I appreciate the fact that certain components of the fees, for example SRC dues may have seen an upwards adjustment, and that may have accounted for the non-reduction .Be that it may, I think it’s time our fees is broken into its components, so that we can subject it to serious scrutiny.

Then again, I must say that having worked closely with the current SRC executives under the able leadership of Raymond Bayor. I am fully aware of the efforts they have made towards giving regular students that unprecedented reduction in their fees and unfortunately sustained the fees of fee-paying student, while commending them for their effort and intervention. I believe they can still do more. If for nothing at all, one legacy they can leave behind is to resist this 75% upfront payment of fees before registration is allowed.

It also saddens my heart, to say that if this draconian policy is allowed to pass. L200 and 400 fee-paying students will have to pay GH₵1,275.00 before registering while their diploma counterparts will pay GH₵ 1,050.00. Equally worrying, is the fact that L100 and Diploma 1 students will be paying GH₵ 1,350.00 and GH₵ 1,125.00 before registering.

Comrades of our beloved institute, education as a right not a privilege should not merely exist in policy documents but must be seen to be observed by state or public institutions to the letter for “our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource “John F. Kennedy. Let’s therefore run away from policies that stifle the efforts of the poor from attaining higher education.

While not holding brief for the management of GIJ, I think the government of the day must also step up its game by increasing its subventions to GIJ. Truly, I don’t think our fees would have been that high if the government meets the budgetary requirements of our beloved institute.        

As rightly indicated by Ayn Rand (1905-1982) “you can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality “. The phenomenal and unparalleled payment of gargantuan fees should be a source of worry to us all as GIJ students- whether you can pay or not. We must therefore all get involved to re-ignite debate on our fees, so that stakeholders can find lasting solutions to this canker-worm, because the difference between ‘involvement’ and ‘commitment’ is like an egg-and-ham breakfast: the chicken was ‘involved’-the pig was ‘committed’. I REST MY CASE.

STEVE KUBATE SALIFU

President, Sutherland Hall.