TheCable

Gbemiga Ogunleye, provost of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), has asked the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) to consider financial allocations to the institution.

He made the call while speaking at the institute’s induction ceremony in Lagos, on Wednesday.

A total of 342 students, representing 148 for national diploma (ND), 83 for higher national diploma (HND) and 111 for postgraduate diploma (PGD) took their matriculation oath at the ceremony.

Ogunleye said TETFUND should not treat the institute as a private institution.

He said NIJ is neither owned by an individual nor managed by a faith-based organisation, and that it is in need of government funding.

“Let me seize this opportunity to appeal to the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) not to treat NIJ as a private school in the strict definition of the word. NIJ is a private school with a difference. We are not owned by a single individual or individuals neither are we owned by any faith-based organisation,” he said.

“NIJ is owned by professional organisations in the media and communication industry. Our proprietors are the Newspapers Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) and the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON).”

The provost said the allocation of funds to the institute will enhance its operations and help project execution.

He said the funds will assist the institution to put up structures to further scale up learning and professionalism in the media.