IIJ Graduates demand for Certificates

Graduates of International Institute of Journalism (IIJ) in different centres are calling on the school management to issue their original certificates.

The graduates said they enrolled and completed various programmes of the school ranging from Post Graduate Diploma (PGD) in Journalism, Post Graduate Diploma (PGD) in Public Relations and Advertising, Higher Diploma in Journalism and Diploma in Journalism.

Over a decade after completing their programmes and issuance of statements of results, original certificates have not been issued to them.

It was gathered that some of the gradutes who made attempts to further their education in other institutions have been turned down for lack of certificate while others suffers neglect in their places of work for inability to produce their original certificates.

IIJ programmes are an affiliate of University of Maiduguri and the institution is supposed to issue certificates to everyone who completed his or her programme.

But the graduates are now mobilising nationwide calling on the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the general public to prevail on the management of IIJ Abuja and its study centres Nationwide to issue their certificates from the University of Maiduguri.

You will recall that the International Institute of Journalism started as a training wing of the Nigeria Union of Journalists and subsequently announced affiliation of it’s academic activities with the University of Maiduguri for the award of Post graduate Diploma(PGD) Courses.

IIJ has over the last years derived it’s support and patronage riding on the media announcement of it’s affiliation to University of Maiduguri.

Applicants are made to believed that after a successful completion of their academic programmes in IIJ, University of Maiduguri will issue the certificates.

But decades after the last batch of certificates which were believed to have been facilitated by the then IIJ Director, Prof Agber Kwakwando between 2009-2010 the institute has stopped issuing certificates.

It was gathered that the current management of IIJ under the leadership of its Director, Dr Emman Usman Shehu, has not facilitate issuance of the certificates.

“We will like to put on record that we are not out to smear anyone either in the management team of the institute or at the NUJ. Furthermore, we are not unaware of prevailing situation in the institute itself. Staff salaries have not been paid for several months and the management seems to be reluctant about the welfare of it’s workers.

“Our demand is simple. Beyond the usual guise of using the insurgency in Borno State as it affects the socio economic and academic situations in that region as the reason for delay and non issuance of certificates, we expect more tenable response both from IIJ and NUJ respectively.

“This is an opportunity for the NUJ and the IIJ management to address this challenges because we would not stop at going to any length to achieve our goals, ” a statement issued by the gradutes through its WhatsApp group, ‘Demand For Your Certificate, ‘ reads.