A case for standardization of journalism, media education in India

Transcription

1 A case for standardization of journalism, media education in India Prof. Ashok Tandon THE TRADITIONAL ON-THE-JOB JOURNALISM TRAINING IN INDIA began with the launch of the Bengal Gazette by James Hickey in 1780 and Udant Martand by Pt. Yugal Kishore Shukla in Dr. Annie Besant made a pioneering effort in pre-entry training of prospective press workers at Adyar in Madra in the 1920s. The American College of Journalism, Bombay (now B.G. Horniman College of Journalism) was set up by Dr. J.B. Kumarappa in The Punjab University, of un-divided India, introduced journalism course in Formal journalism training programme by any media conglomerate was introduced by The Times of India in the mid-60s. The Press Institute of India was set up in the early 60s with the support of some Indian newspapers, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Press Foundation of Asia to supplement onthe-job training for working journalists. The Government of India established the Indian Institute of Mass Communication in 1965 to set high standards in journalism and mass communication. The University Grants Commission (UGC) sanctioned funds for Journalism departments in central universities including the Delhi University, the Jamia Milia Islamia University, the Film Institute of India, Pune and The Banaras Hindu University, and state universities such as Kurukshetra University, Anna University, Chennai, Jabalpur University, and several other universities. Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism & Communication was set up in 1990 as an exclusive university of journalism and mass communication to promote journalism education in Hindi and other Indian languages. Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan and some other social, educational and philanthropic bodies launched courses in journalism and mass communication in different parts of the country. Mushrooming of media institutions Today journalism and mass communication is taught in a large number of central and state There is a virtual mushrooming of media institutions across the country. Many more universities are introducing journalism courses. Several media houses have set up their own media schools. Media education, today, is seen as a profitable commercial/business venture. 63

2 universities. Besides, there are several private universities and institutions providing a variety of media courses. There is a virtual mushrooming of media institutions across the country. Many more universities are introducing journalism courses. Several media houses have set up their own media schools. Media education, today, is seen as a profitable commercial/business venture. In the absence of any common framework of journalism and communication education in India, most media universities and private institutions have devised their own modules and course content, which, to some extent, has an unintentional bias towards western models. A large number of text books are of foreign origin with limited relevance to the social, cultural, economic and political realities in India. A majority of teachers are from the English press. The main challenge in journalism and media education today is not to multiply the existing training and education facilities but to strengthen them through collective efforts by the media academics, professionals, media industry, media universities, professional media bodies and academic institutions. Contours of media education There is urgent need to promote researchoriented communication as well. Research and intellectual development in journalism theory is not actively encouraged by the existing universities and media institutions. Then, there is an unending controversy among the media academics and media practitioners over the contours of journalism/media education. This calls for a platform where all the abovementioned groups could address these challenges and concerns and work towards articulating a common framework of media education. It will also help explore the possibilities of engaging all the media educational institutions in some kind of a voluntary, professional, self-dependent and self -regulatory mechanism. In the last sixty years, many valuable recommendations and suggestions have been made by various committees and groups about journalism, media training and education. These include: The All India Newspaper Editors' Conference(1948), The Press Commission Report (1954), The Indian Federation of 64

3 Unlike other occupational groups such as physicians, nurses, chartered accountants, engineers and lawyers, journalism education has no standards of admittance and no board of review in most parts of the world, barring perhaps Italy. These groups of professionals cannot practice without a license, and if they violate the rules of their profession, their license may be suspended or terminated. With this, they also lose the right to practice. Working Journalists (1954), The Inter-University Board Committee ( C.P.R. Aiyer Committee 1959 ), The UGC Committee (B.Shiva Rao Committee 1964), and The Ford Foundation group (The Wilbur Schramm Committee 1963) The Wilbur Schramm Committee Report touched upon a wide range of communication media and favoured not only professional education but also communication research. The UNESCO, a few years ago, proposed a model curriculum on media education but that lacks universal acceptance. The Press Council of India (PCI) and the Makhanlal Chaturvedi University in a joint initiative, organised a workshop on Standardization of Media Education in consultation with all concerned at New Delhi on March 3, Core group The workshop, attended by representatives from the media industry, media education, professional media bodies and academic institutions, unanimously proposed the setting up of a core group of eminent persons to take the matter forward and come up with concrete recommendations for follow-up action in the light of the suggestions made at the workshop. The first meeting of the core group on Standardization of Media Education was held at the Press Council of India office in New Delhi on September 23, The meeting was presided over by Justice G.N. Ray, Chairman, PCI. It was attended by Shri Achyutanand Mishra, Vice-Chancellor, Makhanlal Chaturvedi University and Co- Chairperson of the Core Group, Dr. N.K. Trikha, an eminent media person, Shri Abhay Chhajlani (Editors' Guild of India),Smt. Stuti Kacker (IIMC), Smt. Vibha Bhargava, Secretary, PCI & Prof. Ashok Tandon, Director, Makhanlal Chaturvedi University, NOIDA Campus (Member-Secretary). Justice Ray said the move towards standardization of media education was a serious subject and should be handled carefully and with due consideration. There might be some reservations in certain quarters on this issue as universities may not like any encroachment upon their autonomy. He strongly felt the need to have at least some minimum benchmark of standards in the curriculum as in professional courses such as Law and suggested 65

4 that the core committee may set up a small group of experts to prepare a draft curriculum. Justice Ray expressed the hope that the proposed curriculum would get positive response from all the stake-holders. The meeting of the Core Group decided to set up three sub-groups on: Curriculum & Faculty ( Convener: Dr. N.K. Trikha) Infrastructure & training facilities (Convener: Smt. Stuti Kacker) Affiliation/Accreditation (Convener: Shri Abhay Chhajlani) The PCI Chairman hoped that the minimum benchmark in media education will be evolved through collective wisdom of all the stake-holders and that nothing will be imposed on anyone. The setting up of the core group is the first step in that direction. We must proceed step by step with the aim of producing good journalists in the country. Other members of the Core Group include: Smt. Stuti Kacker (IIMC), Dr. Rajiv Mehrotra (nominee of the UGC), Smt. Rakhshanda Jalil (Jamia Milia Islamia University), Shri Naresh Mohan (nominee of the Indian Newspapers Society (INS), Smt. Ananya Banerjee (Doordarshan), Prof. Pachauri (Delhi University) and Prof. N.N. Pillai (Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan). It was proposed that representatives from the IGNOU & the I P University may be co-opted in the Core Group and so should be the nominees of the Indian Broadcasting Federation (IBF) & the National Broadcasters Association (NBA) for wider participation. Justice Ray agreed that suggestions may be invited from the private sector media educational institutions as well. It was decided that the newly coopted institutions may be approached with the relevant background material for their reference alongwith a request for nomination. The Makhanlal Chaturvedi University has accepted the responsibility of pursuing these efforts and we are moving in the right directions, the pace, however, is slow. The core group is working on this theme knowing fully well that unlike other occupational groups such as physicians, nurses, chartered accountants, engineers and lawyers, journalism education has no standards of admittance and no board of review in most parts of the world, barring perhaps Italy. These groups of professionals 66

5 USA UK In countries like the UK, USA, Japan and Australia, there are associations for media education. These include the Media Education Association (MEA) in the UK and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) in the USA. cannot practice without a licence, and if they violate the rules of their profession, their licence may be suspended or terminated. With this, they also lose the right to practice. This is not the case in journalism. Not only do such licensing laws not exist; their implementation would be illegal in many countries. In the United States of America, for example, the First Amendment forbids the enforcement of journalistic standards: Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech or of the press (US Constitution, 1st Amendment, 15 December, 1791). However, there are several quality approval bodies overseeing the training and/or education of journalists in some countries. In the U K, for newspaper journalism, the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) is most prominent. For other branches of the media, there are other accreditations as well, such as the Periodicals Training Council (PTC) run by the Periodical Publishers Association (PPA), which administers accreditations for magazine journalism courses. There is also the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC), which oversees broadcasting education. In order to gain an NCTJ qualification, the student has to sit in a series of seven preliminary exams. These exams include writing of news stories of various lengths and a knowledge test covering local government, general reporting and law. Accredited courses NCTJ accredited courses culminate in the NCTJ National Certificate Examination (NCE), which is a highly acclaimed qualification within the journalism profession. There may be similar set-ups in some other countries as well. In countries like the UK, USA, Japan and Australia, there are associations for media education. These include the Media Education Association (MEA) in the UK and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) in the USA, whose purpose, according to its constitution, is to improve education in journalism and mass communication towards the end of achieving better professional practice, a better informed public, and wider human understanding. It seeks to achieve this purpose through the functions of (a) encouraging high academic and professional standards for education in mass communication; (b) fostering scholarly research and inquiry in mass communication and facilitating the publication and distribution, to the public, of reports based on such activity; and (c) supporting freedom of communication consonant with the ideals expressed in the First Amendment of the US Constitution. The writer is Director, Makhanlal Chaturvedi University, NOIDA Campus ( ID : ashokkumar.tandon@gmail.com) 67