Why NIJ Is Regarded As Best Mass Communication Training Institution

Why is the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ) regarded as the best Mass Communication training institution in Nigeria? 

To be sincere, no school can have it all, but when it comes to the key things that make for a balanced training in Mass Communication, the things that ensure the production of an all-round professional: ready to engage the Mass Media industry at any level, you cannot but give it to the NIJ. Some vital issues or points have accounted for this, much of which we are about to overview here.

Full accreditations and recognitions

With accreditations, recognitions and or collaborations from educational regulatory and professional bodies and agencies like the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) and the Nigeria Institute for Public Relations (NIPR), to mention some, NiJ is regarded as the best mass communication training instituteion in the country.

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All the above mentioned bodies are known for best practices in their respective areas and their alliance with NIJ can only say so much.

A graduating class

A dual heritage

With the dual heritage of being an academic institution, and a citadel of practical Mass Communication education, the NIJ remains a clear leader in the sector. It remains a breeding ground for the most balanced educationists and professionals for the Nigeria mass media, one that makes its products the best both in terms of professional output and ethical balance.

Dedication of faculty members

One of the things that stand the school out, is the dedication of both its academic and non-academic staff. Compared to other schools, where faculty members could skip classes at will, the lecturers here imbibe the philosophy of physical class attendance as being of utmost importance. There is a mandatory 70 per cent attendance to lectures before students could qualify to write exams, which, not only mandates the students themselves to strife to be present for classes, but also demands dedication from the faculty first and foremost.

Practice-based Mass Communication

What is the point producing Mass Communication graduates who cannot different the microphone types, much tell a feature story from a commentary. NIJ teaches these differences from the scratch, such that after one semester of attendance to classes, the average NIJ undergraduate would have become poles apart from peers in conventional schools.

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Individual students undertake news writing, broadcast and Public Relations assignments, in addition to group works in those thematic areas, all in the bid to deepen their understanding and practice of Mass Communication.

From left, Dr Omojuyigbe, Registrar, Mrs Patricia Kalesanwo, HOD General Studies, Dr Boye Ola and HOD Mass Communication, Mr Mike Osuji. Behind is Director of Special Programmes, Dr Jide Johnson

There are magazine projects, newspapers, podcasts, tv productions and other relevant practical works on display the students as evidences of their training. 

Equipped Studios And Labs Bringing Theoretical Teachings To Life

The school has developed a robust curriculum that makes real, all the theories as they relate to Mass Communication.

There are studios for television and radio broadcasting, as there are practical labs for News Writing, Public Relations and entrepreneurship education.

Each of those studios and labs house practical mass communication products and services which the students have produced, as part of their trainings.

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It has the reputation for training different levels of manpower for the Mass Media and allied industries, including radio and television stations, newspapers and magazines, blogs and websites as well as for Public Relations and advertising departments. Overtime, many have risen to become editors, newscasters, producers, corporate affairs managers and more, many migrating to allied fields but leveraging as it were, from the trainings and exposures that the mass media availed them.

Guests during a convocation

Compact population

The NIJ has a reputation of not exceeding its carrying capacity, and so, there is overcrowding in its lecture rooms. The compact nature of the students’ population and impressive teacher-scholar ratio, makes real impartation possible. Facilitators are able to maintain eye contact with students, and in fact, move round the desks to personally supervise each student’s work progress.

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A long standing reputation

Established in 1963, alongside the Ghana Institute of Journalism, the only two of their type in the whole of Africa, global best practices form a major element of the NIJ gene. That framework is constantly transforming, equipping the institution with the wherewithal to train manpower for the mass Media in Nigeria and elsewhere in the world.

Close affinity with the media industry

It is not a surprise that the NIJ has the closest affinity with the mass media industry than you can say of any other higher institution, being the primary producer of the workforce for this vital sector.

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Indeed, it is rare to go to any media outfit in the country, and not find an NIJ product. In addition to each NIJ student interning with a media outfit for a year before graduating, lecturers also return to the newsrooms from time to time to update their skills.

Much more

These and more are why NIJ is regarded as best mass communication training institution. Perhaps, you have a point not captured above, do please, make this available for the teeming public who may be interested in the school offering the best mass communication education.