The media leaders with the Deputy Minister
The government is expected to train about 250 journalists annually as part of the Media Capacity Enhancement Programme (MCEP) being spearheaded by the Ministry of Information.
At the launch of the MCEP in Accra on Sunday, November 14, 2021, Deputy Minister of Information, Fatima Abubakar, said the programme is expected to provide continuous in-service training for media personnel in the country to sharpen their skills.
“The role of the ministry is simply to provide bursaries to participant from the media landscape who will benefit from this capacity enhancement programme annually. Under the programme, a skills gap analysis has been conducted by a working committee of experts and a curriculum based on gaps has been developed. The independent committee has also selected a faculty comprising academics and senior media practitioners from across the country, to administer the programme,” she explained.
She said the programme is in line with one of the key strategic objectives of the ministry which is to assist in the development of the information sector for which reason a successful implementation of the programme is expected to transform Ghana’s media landscape.
Present at the launch were the heads of the implementing partner organisations of the programme including the Rector of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) Prof. Kwamena-Kwansa Aidoo, Chairman of the National Media Commission, Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh and the President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Roland Affail Monney as well as members from media umbrella bodies such as the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) and the Private Newspaper Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG).
Prof. Aidoo, who is also the chairman of the committee, was excited about the ministry’s intervention and said the programme will help equip journalists with the right skill set to be able to go about their jobs.
Mr. Monney encouraged journalists to take advantage of the programme and gain the requisite skills in journalism.
The MCEP will provide continuous on-the-job training at regular intervals for media practitioners to improve their skills, support training targeted at content creation for media practitioners, provide a regular platform to support media-introspection on subject related to media management, corporate governance, and media business models and encourage ethical journalism.
Journalists interested in the programme will have to apply online and be selected by the working committee comprising representatives of partner organisations.