The Provost of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), Ogba, Lagos, Mr. Gbenga Adefaye, has called on students to uphold the ethical standards of the journalism profession.

Speaking at the institution’s matriculation ceremony for the 2024/2025 academic session, Adefaye emphasized the institute’s commitment to grooming disciplined and excellent professionals who will maintain the highest ethical standards in their work. He stated, “Our goal is to train and groom disciplined and excellent professionals who will uphold the highest ethical standard in their profession. We will equip you to go into the world as professionals cum content producers in our new age of communication technology.”

To achieve this objective, Adefaye assured the new students of practical exposure through field trips to media houses, advertising agencies, and public relations firms. He also highlighted the importance of industrial training (IT) for National Diploma (ND) students, as well as opportunities to participate in sports, inter-college competitions, and industrial workshops.

Adefaye further reassured students of an uninterrupted academic calendar. “It’s a thing of pride to us to give you a guarantee of a seamless story, with certainty, the year of graduation. There are no strikes. There is no disruption of scheduled programmes. We have our staff members and students to thank for that,” he added.

He stressed the significance of lecture attendance, stating that each student must attain 70 percent attendance to be eligible to sit for examinations. He also underscored the necessity of continuous assessment through classwork and assignments.

The matriculation ceremony took place at the Kensington Adebutu Media Resource Centre, where a total of 304 students participated in the oath-taking ceremony. This included 127 students enrolled in the National Diploma (ND) programme, 82 in the Higher National Diploma (HND) programme, and 95 in the Post Graduate Diploma (PGD) programme.

In line with evolving industry demands, the institution recently restructured its HND programme, replacing the Print and Broadcast options with Strategic Communications & Media Studies and Journalism & Media Studies.

The academic ceremony was attended by academic and non-academic staff members, parents, and returning students, all gathered to witness the formal induction of the new intakes into the institution.