The practice of demanding payment from Mass Communication Students by media organisations in Nigeria before they can be allowed to embark on media tours as part of their educational advancement should stop.
Back in days, one the ways of media advancement for students is through media internships and media tours. This opens the students to the workings of how a standard media organisation operates. It gives them practical knowledge and experience, and further helps them to decide the path to which to follow in the media world.
But today,things have gone bad. Even getting IT placement for many students, is an herculean task as many organisations are no longer wiling to take IT students and train but preferred those who have the training already, like NYSC Corp members.
One would wonder why many experienced media practitioners who were benefits of training In their own time,are now not willing to extend the same hand of training to upcoming ones .
To visit a media house today, media organisations charge as high as 50,000-100,000 for Mass communication students and other categories before they can be attended to.
It is understood that in a changing financial landscape of the media world, and with increased competition, media organizations need to look out more to raise funds to run their organizations, but exceptions should be made, especially when it comes to training and guidance of the next generation of media practitioners.
I believe Sincerely that media organisations can charge primary or secondary schools a token for media visits because it is basically a way to raise some funds,while for the school, it’s an excursion already paid for, but charging a department of mass Communication which has produced at least half of many staff in media organisation is a disservice.
It is an urgent situation that requires immediate remedy, if not done,it may further convince the students that the most important thing in media is money. There should be a clear line between making profit, and helping to train the next generation of media practitioners. Charging exhorbitant amounts of money for media tours by mass communication students, is crossing this line.
Let us join hands and take this country back to where it used to be.
Morals, values and responsibility needs to find it’s way back to this society. If not,we may not have a country as we proceed.