In a bid to fostering freedom of expression and freedom of information, the National University of Lesotho (NUL) through the support of the United States (US) government will from August this year offer Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Journalism and Media Studies.
This was revealed by the Dean of Faculty of Humanities, Professor Beatrice Ekangume in an interview on Wednesday where she said it is going to be a four-year-programme and that it will be offered on full time basis, saying applications can be made as soon as forms are available which will be by the end of this month.
She said for people holding Diploma in Mass Communication, they will only be enrolled in 2020 / 2021 academic year as they will be starting from second year emphasising that for them it means they will be enrolling for three years.
‘Since the programme starts this year (2019) and we will only have first year students, Mass Communication Diploma holders will start in 2020 because by then we will have second year students’, she added.
Prof. Ekangume highlighted however that they are still contemplating on offering the programme on part time basis in order to cater for working people who might not be able to enroll full time.
She added that the programme will be offered at both Roma and Maseru campuses.
Earlier the United States (U.S) Ambassador to Lesotho, Ms. Rebecca Gonzales said freedom of expression and freedom of information is enshrined as a basic human right in the African Charter of Human and People’s Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations (UN) in 1948.
She added that up and coming journalists need proper training and solid foundation in ethical journalism, adding that when they enter the workforce, they need to emerge from school with critical thinking skills to research, investigate, analyze and instill information in order to advance ideals of transparency, accountability and journalistic integrity.
The U.S government supports development and implementation of this new academic programme with a grant of more than M750, 000 and other technical support.
Source: LENA 09/01/2019