Partisan politics beyond tolerable limits

The Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) a foremost journalism training institution in Ghana and beyond needs urgent deliverance from the shackles of academicians turned politicians.

The current state of the institution leaves much to be desired. There are sufficient grounds for the germane state authority to look into the operations of the institute with a view to visiting positive changes it badly needs.

The political metamorphosis which Ghana witnessed upon the direction of her citizens at the polls must touch everything in the country including academic institutions like the GIJ. The school needs a respectable dose of treatment to reverse the malaise it is suffering.

Recently a group of concerned staffers of the tertiary institution had cause to raise their voices about anomalies which, according to them, impede its smooth operations.

We have no doubt in our minds that the staffers’ concerns were grounded in verifiable facts which we want probed with a view to restoring normalcy to the one-time pride of journalism in Anglophone West Africa.

The GIJ having been born many years before the UPSA cannot today boast of strides the latter has made in terms of deference and infrastructural development et al.

The need for the authorities to look at the staffing of the post-graduate school cannot be overlooked if the school must be exalted to its befitting status. The shortcomings in such matters have been overlooked deliberately to the detriment of the growth of the school and to the chagrin of both students and staffers.

They would be victimized who are identified with opposing the status quo which is why we think an urgent intervention is appropriate.

It is amazing that an academic institution of the status of the GIJ will descend to the abyss of typical partisan NDC politics.

Credible information have it that some newspapers including the DAILY GUIDE have been barred from the school’s library. Indeed some lecturers avoid using such newspapers for their case studies.

The unofficial policy not to accept some newspapers in the school represents a blemish in the school’s pedigree achieved for it by previous managers.

It would be interesting to find out how this obnoxious convention originated and who are responsible for its sustenance in the past four years or so. There is a can of worms to be examined and the time to do so is now.

The manouvres by those responsible for the sorry state of the school have been noted. We are sure, however, that the Education Minister would read between the lines and advise himself as he deems fit, the subtle engagement with persons in government in a useless bid to become turncoats notwithstanding.

Those whose contributions have taken the institute to its tertiary status are today being given a bad name so they can be hanged and denied any exaltation so their experiences can be further tapped for the benefit of the nation.

Such persons suffered undue ordeal because they were tagged NPP. Must such tags be tolerated in an otherwise respectable institution like the one under review?

The story about how school properties have been disposed of in breach of best practices is not under the carpet. It can be detected with little or no sweat.

The GIJ should not be an appendage of any political party. The change which has come to Ghana should encompass such places as the GIJ where a group of persons have usurped its fortunes and are running it like a fiefdom.

They drew their powers from the NDC and must be told today that change has come and normalcy must be restored in state institutions including the GIJ. We are standing by for further developments.