The Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) was on Friday presented with a certificate of elevation to the status of a fully-fledged university, through the granting of a Presidential Charter. The institute now has the mandate to award its own certificates, diplomas, degrees and other qualifications in line with the GIJ Act (717) of 2006. Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo, Minister of Education, presenting the certificate to the Institute, charged the institute's Council, to assert itself and spearhead the transformation into a world class institution, comparable to the best in Ghana and the world at large. He said this required the development of its faculties and infrastructure in tandem with the fundamental requirements necessary to achieve the highest standards. Mr Tettey-Enyo congratulated the GIJ for its great achievements over the past 50 years in training communicators, journalists and other affiliated professionals, but warned that the elevation had great challenges with new relationships with other tertiary institutions in and outside the country. He said GIJ should develop its own curriculum within its mandate to meet the changing trends in the highly competitive market, design new courses and overhaul its income generating sources to keep pace with others in academia. Mr. Tettey-Enyo implored the management to lay more emphasis on research and promotion of knowledge acquisition, invest in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), while promoting linkage programmes with foreign universities and establishing collaboration and quality relationship with business and industry. He stressed the need to acknowledge the importance of higher education in the country towards promoting sustainable development. "We all need to work towards addressing some of the challenges facing higher education in the country to provide adequate solutions to the socio-economic problems facing the society," he said. Mr. David Newton, Rector of the Institute, said GIJ had since October 16, 1959, when established, played its role well as a centre of excellence in educating and training journalists, communicators and public relations practitioners. He said attempts to upgrade the Institute to take advantage of the changing trends in the fields of journalism and communication to offer degree and post graduate courses had been hampered by a myriad of factors with the major constraints being the legal framework (NRCD 275) under which the institute had operated since 1974 to 2005. Mr Newton said the Institute's status was overhauled by Parliament in 2006 with the enactment of Act 717, which transformed the GIJ from a diploma awarding status to that of a degree level. The Act also transferred oversight responsibility from the Ministry of Information to the Ministry of Education. Mr Newton said this decision empowered the Institute to run degree courses but as an affiliate of the University of Ghana. He acknowledged the immense role of University of Ghana in the development of its curriculum, modernisation of its examinations and the award of degrees to GIJ graduates. "We are indebted to them, but the relationship is about to change from an affiliate to partnership and effective collaboration of independent institutions," he said. The Rector indicated that since the enactment of Act 717, changes including the steady review of its curriculum and programme content, gradual integration of ICT in all its academic programmes, the introduction of Online Journalism and the creation of separate units for broadcast journalism and audio-visuals had been effected. He said the Institute had also set out a proper organisational and governance structure, developed new schemes of service and conditions of service for both senior and junior staff, while taking an initiative to review the existing strategic plan to meet the demands and challenges of the new university. Mr Newton said currently the GIJ had two main faculties in Communication and Social Studies and was planning to establish new faculties in ICT, Languages and Management Studies and hoped these programmes would open new and many opportunities for students and make them more competitive on the job market. He appealed to the Ministry of Education; the Diplomatic Corps in Ghana, donor agencies and the corporate world to assist GIJ address its infrastructural needs at its new site at Okponglo. Source: GNA