Ghana Institute of Journalism

History

The Ghana Institute of Journalism was established on 16 October 1959 by Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana. Kwame Nkrumah had a vision of to train a patriotic cadre corps of journalists to play an effective role in the emancipation of the African continent hence established the Ghana Institute of Journalism.

The school was formally called School of Journalism which was a department at the Accra Technical Institute now Accra Polytechnic. The school had Mr Richard McMillan who was then due for retirement as the Director of the British Information Services in Ghana as its first principal and journalism tutor.

In 1974, the National Redemption Council (NRC) passed a legislative instrument (NRCD 275) formally establishing the Ghana Institute of Journalism. The decree set as objects of the Institute the following:

a) To train young men and women in the skills and techniques of journalism, mass communication, advertising and public relations.

b) To organise classes, lectures, seminars, demonstrations, experiments, researches and practical training in all aspects of journalism and mass communication.

President John Agyekum Kuffuor in 2009, granted the institute a Charter to award its own Certificates, Diplomas and Degrees.

University charter

The school got its presidential charter establishing it as a university in 2009. The charter allowed the institute to self exist with the ability to award its own certificates, diplomas and degrees for its accredited programmes. This has severed the institute's affiliation with the University of Ghana.

The school currently runs a Bachelor of Art degrees programme in Communication Studies, with options of specializing in either Journalism or Public Relations.