Asian College of Journalism PG diploma course

10 March 2011

The Asian College of Journalism (ACJ) in Madras is inviting applications for its post-graduate diploma course for the 2011-2012.

2 Comments

mysore peshva

11 March 2011 at 3:42 am · Reply

why is sans serif promoting this admission invitation? the application fee of rs. 1000 is more than 2% of india’s per capita income! — which on 8 march 2011 was announced in the lok sabha to be rs. 46,492.

the high application fee is ridiculous, and an indication of the elitist, disconnected, and commercial nature of many of india’s media-training institutions. can such institutions produce sensitive journalists that care for the underdog, for problems of the rural poor?

besides, i don’t understand how any “application fee” is even constitutional in a country whose citizens constitute a third of the world’s poorest, even if it is a country whose vedic culture and philosophy is among the oldest and most advanced in the world.

will someone please answer the following questions for me:

does such an application fee exclude vast sections of india’s students from applying? does that make it unconstitutionally discriminatory? what if i believed i was eligible but did not have rs. 1,000 because i was 20 years old with no job and my father was an onion farmer in ahmadnagar district whom shri. sharad pawar’s agriculture ministry had denied fair commodity income for more than five years? then what?
Ranabir Majumdar

11 March 2011 at 1:39 pm · Reply

Your highness Mysore Peshva Sa’ab,

Your royal title leads me to believe that you are a blue-blooded, self-championed activist who espouses the cause of the poor onion farmers’ son who wants to pursue journalism but cannot as the capitalistic media education set-up in this country has created monetary barriers to his entry.

I wish you would check the facts before you start your tirade against an educational institution that has for more than a decade prepared high-quality, ethical and sensitive media practitioners.

If I was a 20-year-old who did not have money and my father was an onion farmer, and I wanted to pursue a journalism course at the Asian College of Journalism; I would write to the college authorities and they would waive off the application fees. If I was then good enough to prove my mettle in the written exam and in the interview, I will be eligible for a merit scholarship.

Why is it that you have a problem with a media school asking for an application fee of Rs 1,000 when medical, engineering and management colleges ask for much more.

I know two wrongs don’t make a right, but at least this college listens to your voice and acts upon it. Most cannot even claim to do that.

And that’s probably why Sans Serif is informing its users/followers about the admission notice to one of the finest Journalism schools not just in India but in the world.

Warm regards,
Ranabir Majumdar
ACJian, Class of 2000