The popularity of journalism courses seems to be rising with Delhi University (DU) announcing that it will offer a five-year integrated programme from this academic session, and the Institute of Home Economics (IHE) getting added to the list of five other colleges under DU offering this course.
Additionally, a proposal to start a separate journalism school was recently approved by DU’s Standing Committee. It is now awaiting approval from the Academic Council.
“The media industry is growing and we found a growing demand among students for journalism,” said Neeti Vaid, associate professor at IHE.
The institute will be offering a three-year B.A. (Hons.) programme in journalism from this academic session and will become the sixth college, after Lady Shri Ram College, Kalindi College, Kamla Nehru College, Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, and Maharaja Agrasen College, to offer such a course.
DU has received around 79,000 applications for the B.A. Journalism programme this year.
‘Guest teachers’
“It is a comprehensive course. We will invite people from the industry to provide practical knowledge to the students,” said Ms. Vaid.
The five-year integrated course will end with the student getting an M.A. in Journalism.
The course structure is such that it is compulsory for each student to study at least one regional and one foreign language each semester over the five years. Bengali and Tamil are the regional languages on offer while French, Spanish, Arabic and Chinese are the foreign languages that students can choose from.
Refuting concerns over the absence of a permanent faculty, Dr. Savita Datta, principal of Maitreyi College, said: “It is basically cooperative teaching. We will be inviting good journalists to teach. So, initially we are starting off with guest faculty members and later on, as we get the required approvals, we will bring in a permanent faculty.”
