By Enock Sithole
Journalism education in Ghana is a source of concern, so says Dr Richmond Acheampong, who lectures in journalism at the Christian Service University in Kumasi, Ghana.
Dr Acheampong told Ajenda that journalism schools in the country tended to hire journalism lecturers with no journalism qualifications or newsroom experience. “A concerning trend has emerged where journalism faculties in Ghana hire lecturers with backgrounds in English, communication or other fields unrelated to journalism,” he said.
Journalism education is attractive to young people in Ghana, leading to a demand for journalism lecturers. “The demand for lecturers to meet the growing number of journalism students has led some universities to hire individuals with limited qualifications and without experience in the field of journalism. These individuals may possess strong academic qualifications in language or communication but often lack the practical experience and specialised knowledge required to effectively teach the craft,” he argued.
“While the importance of language skills cannot be understated, it’s equally important that journalism students are taught by individuals with firsthand experience in the media industry and understand the contemporary issues facing journalism.”
Dr Acheampong believes that “at the heart of quality journalism education lies the expertise and industry experience of the instructors”. He said the profession of journalism demands “a unique set of skills that go beyond theoretical knowledge”.
He added that journalists must be able to investigate, write compelling stories and adapt to the ever-changing media landscape. “They must understand the ethical dilemmas they face, be skilled in multimedia production and navigate the legal implications of their work. These are areas where theory alone cannot suffice. Practical and hands-on experience is critical,” he argued.
The hiring of journalism lecturers without journalism qualifications or experience, he added, has hurt the quality of journalism in the country. “This has far-reaching implications for the quality of not only journalism education but also the journalism profession.”
Dr Kodwo Boateng, who is head of the Department of Integrated Social Sciences and a senior lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Journalism, concurred with Dr Acheampong, saying “the views are widely held here, but they are just views. They are not well researched. They hold water to a point”.
He said one of the reasons for this was that journalism education was a relatively new phenomenon in the country. “Previously, journalists learned the profession on the job. There is also very little incentive for practising journalists to become academics because it is not a lucrative profession,” he added.
“Journalism education is a combination of various subjects including language, sociology and other technical areas; therefore, lecturers from other professions outside journalism were needed to enrich journalism education so that the graduates are equipped in all the aspects that form part of journalism,” said Dr Boateng.
“So, those supporting (subjects) are very essential in your acquiring the knowledge and the skill to collect news and report it, which is, maybe, 30% of the entire four years of your first degree,” he added.
It would be great if practising journalists could be encouraged to further their education and obtain the necessary qualifications to teach at universities; however, not many seem interested, said Dr Boateng.
Dr Acheampong said the curriculum followed by some journalism schools was not entirely appropriate to equip journalists with the requisite skills. This has led to complaints by the industry that journalism graduates from various universities were not ready for the newsroom.
He blamed the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), the regulatory body for higher education in the country, for allowing the “decline to persist, putting the future of journalism in the country at risk”.
Tertiary institutions in Ghana decide on their own curricula and obtain approval from the GTEC. “The Commission’s failure to enforce rigorous hiring standards for journalism faculty members has allowed this troubling trend to continue unchecked,” he said.
GTEC should issue clear hiring guidelines and accreditation standards for journalism education, he said, adding that regular audits and reviews of journalism departments should be conducted to ensure compliance with standards.
Dr Acheampong believes that journalism lecturers should not only have academic qualifications in journalism but should also have newsroom experience. “Addressing the issue of substandard journalism education requires a multi-faceted approach. Universities should prioritise hiring qualified lecturers who have both academic qualifications and professional experience in journalism.”
Even worse, said Dr Acheampong, media that broadcast in languages other than English tend to employ untrained journalists as long as they have mastered the language of broadcasting. This has had a negative impact on the quality of the content that these media produce.
Ajenda requested comments from GTEC through emails, to no avail.