Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Anambra State Council has appealed to all practitioners in the state to maximise the opportunity offered by Paul University, Awka to obtain Professional Diploma in Mass Communication.
NUJ made the appeal during the July meeting held at its Secretariat, Awka state capital .
During the meeting, the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Paul University , Prof Chinyere Stella, had announced that she had worked out opportunity for members with deficiencies in Mass Communication to upgrade.
According to her, the fee for Professional Diploma in Mass Communication and Media Studies of Paul University was N100,000 for practising journalist in the state but promised to pay N50,000 while the beneficiary will just pay N50,000.
Chinyere Stella who also a member of Anambra NUJ council urged members to utilise the opportunity to upgrade as professional journalist.
In a communique issued and signed by Chairman, NUJ Anambra State Council Comrade Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, and the Secretary, Comrade Aloysius Ofodile, after the monthly meeting, NUJ encouraged journalists with no professional qualification in journalism to utilize the opportunity and urged certified members to update their knowledge especially on new courses introduced in the profession.
According to communique, the congress commended the Town and Gown initiative of Prof Chinyere Stella Okunna through her partners in subsidizing the tuition fees for willing participants.
“The Congress welcomed a proposal that offered NUJ members opportunity to obtain Professional Diploma in Mass Communication and Media Studies of Paul University, Awka for a fee of N50,000 while also eulogizing the institution for kick-starting the programme aimed at empowering Anambra-based Journalists academically” it stated.