The Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) will soon be placed under the Ministry of Education. The Legislative Instrument to that effect will surely be passed this year, says Mr Dan Botwe, Minister of Information.

"The bill is ready and would soon be sent to Parliament after securing cabinet's approval," he stated when addressing the 44th graduation of the Institute at the weekend. GIJ, the nation's premier journalism training institute, is currently under the Ministry of Information. This situation has made it impossible for the institute to enjoy some facilities provided to institutions under the Education Ministry.

The Minister congratulated the graduands and commended the Institute for its contribution towards national development. Speaking on the theme for the occasion, "The media and ICT: Challenges and prospects," Mr Botwe stressed the importance of information and communication technology to national growth and asked the institute to take advantage of it. He said that in the bid to take advantage of the prospects of ICT, the government was promoting the application of information technology to improve the quality and efficiency of the public service institutions.

"In addition, the government is facilitating the establishment of ICT centres where the youth would be trained to promote and sustain the effective application of ICTs," he said, citing the establishment of the Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT and he Multi Media Centre as the result of the government's efforts at promoting ICT development.