Expressing displeasure over the developments at University College, Thiruvananthapuram, Governor P. Sathasivam has promised stern action to address all the issues pertaining to the college.
Inaugurating the 20th anniversary celebration of the School of Journalism and Visual Communication and the new building block of the Kottayam Press Club here on Thursday, the Governor said the Vice Chancellor of Kerala University had already submitted an interim report on the issue and the official was expected to furnish a final report soon.
Besides seeking the report, the Governor had been apprised of the issue by the Minister of Higher Education. Further, he also held discussions with the Leader of the Opposition as well as a delegation led by the NDA.
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“For any report pertaining to the university or the citizen, I need not have to wait for a formal petition,” he said.
Earlier in the day, the Governor, while inaugurating the ISBA national conference at Kanjirapally, termed the violent episode at University College as quite disturbing. “For the last two days, I was busy summoning the Vice Chancellor and meeting the Education Minister, Leader of the Opposition and delegates of various political parties over the issue. I hope the issue will be settled soon,” he said.
The Governor called for positive standardisation of the wage structure across various types of media. News had become a commodity to be sold and journalistic ethics were struggling to be different from market ethics, he said.
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In an era of post truth, emotions override facts which once considered holy in journalism. The editorial freedom tended to bend before ‘advertorials and paid news,’ which are planted to conceal real issues, Mr. Sathasivam said.
He suggested the School of Journalism to launch a campaign for responsible social media behaviour among the youth.
Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, MLA, and office-bearers of the Kottayam Press Club and Kerala Union of Working Journalists were present.