It is paradoxical. Where the market shows no signs of perking up, another school of journalism has decided to contribute to the list of stars looking for a place on the media firmament. From September, the Amity School of Journalism and Communication, part of the Ritanand Balved International Educational Foundation, will add to the already heavy list of institutions in Delhi offering either degree or diploma in the subject.The other journalism options in the Capital include post-graduate diploma courses at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication or the Mass Communication Research Centre at the Jamia Millia Islamia University; and under-graduate degree courses in five Delhi colleges - Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Lady Shri Ram, Kalindi, Kamala Nehru and Maharaja Agrasena College.
With most media outfits pruning their workforce in a bid to boost the flagging revenues -- recent examples include TV 18 and The Pioneer -- what made an established educational conglomerate suddenly turn toward media studies? ``Our schools and colleges for management and law provide all-round education in most disciplines. Now, the Amity School of Journalism and Communication will complete the gamut. The new course will provide the surefire weapon of behavioural science along with theoretical knowledge and practical applications to journalism students, making them stand out from amongst students of other journalism schools. The courses on offer will be a post-graduate diploma in journalism and a bachelors degree in communication through distance learning. The degree is recognised by the Guru Jambheshwar University, in Hisar, Haryana. We haven't got any response from either the AICTE or the HRD ministry for the diploma, though,'' says Dr Ashok K Chauhan, chairman and CEO, AKC group of companies and presidentof the Ritanand Balved Education Foundation.
Since journalism is already taught in so many colleges, how will the new courses be different? ``The difference lies in the comprehensive syllabi. None of these colleges, including IIMC or even MCRC, teaches the print media, broadcast journalism, advertising, public relations and film studies together in one course. The diploma will initiate students into these disciplines with a healthy balance of practical and theoretical skills. And once they are interested, and choose to specialise in any of these disciplines, we have another advanced post graduate diploma in the second year. Another value addition is a masters in mass communication, at the same level,'' says Chauhan.
The course for the post-graduate diploma in mass communication will be divided into the following four modules:
The Print Media
Broadcast Journalism
Advertising and Public Relations
Film studies
The eligibility for the PG diploma is graduation with a minimum of 50 per cent marks and an upper age-limit of 27. The annual fee is a steep Rs 45,000. For the BMC degree through distance education ,the fee is Rs 10,000, though. Won't this all-encompassing nature of the syllabus lead to only a superficial knowledge of the various media? ``More than 80 per cent of our faculty will be visiting lecturers who are experts in their respective fields. Plus, we will have some core faculty members with both practical knowledge and a sound theoretical base. There would be special lectures and seminars once a week and teachers from our management and business schools will come and teach behavioural science to the students to give them the cutting edge, psychologically,'' claims Chauhan.``Indians possess traits like intuition, instinct, creativity and flexibility, which are required in journalism and software development. But Indian journalism schools don't nurse these traits. The syllabi and the faculty remains the same year after year. This leads to monotony and indifference on the part of students, we will try and overcome this,'' says Chauhan.
The academic year spans three semesters of three months each, plus 6-8 weeks for internship. The instruction methodology comprises lectures to clarify readings, the classroom envisaged as a forum of discussion; projects to learn by doing, and finally internships to actually get hands-on experience working in the real world. There would be a placement cell which will undertake campus recruitment and interact with various newspaper and television outfits for internships.
An added novelty is the film studies paper whose content has equal doses of both cine literacy and film appreciation. The task of making his school stand out amongst other established institutions does not daunt Chauhan.
Neither do the grim ground realities of unemployment and a depression in the industry, ``All great inventions have happened in times of adversity. My students will be be recruited because of the brand value associated with Amity colleges. My students will not desert a sinking ship like mice. They will be taught to stay aboard and make the ship sail,'' he says. Tall words, coming from an optimist academician. But gauging the initial response to the advertisements (the school claims to have had 120 inquiries on the first day itself), there are still many takers for a career as a pen pusher.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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