Dr Wilberforce Dzisah, the Rector of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ), has assured new students of the Institute of the management’s commitment to get the hostel back on track once the new governing council is inaugurated.

He said although the plan to get private investors or estate developers to construct the hostels at the Institute’s new site had suffered a temporary setback, management was determined to quicken the process as soon as the Council was in place.

He gave the assurance when the Institute formally admitted new students to its Masters, Degree and Diploma programmes at the 17th matriculation ceremony in Accra.

“With the support and backing of the Council, we shall re-strategise as to possible funding options to adopt in order to fulfil this all important and deserving vision,” he stated.

A total of 1,750 undergraduate students, comprising 1,100 degree and 50 Diploma students were admitted this academic year, representing a 39 percent increase over the 1260 students admitted in the 2016/2017 academic year.

At the graduate level, 300 students were offered admission to the four Master’s programmes in Journalism, Media Management, Public Relations and Development Communication, from the 600 applications received.

“Due to the high level of patronage of our Graduate programmes, the Institute decided to run a weekend school with two of the flagship programmes-Public Relations and Development Communication, alongside the four regular programmes,” he said.

Dr Dzisah said the tightening of its selection processes at both the undergraduate and graduate levels was indicative of its commitment to ensure the highest standards for its programmes.

He urged the students not to see their admission as an end in itself but the beginning of a long but productive journey, provided that they imbibed the tenets of discipline and hard work.

“Certificates are not like divine objects to be handed down to you from a Mosaic hill. I therefore entreat you to take your studies seriously and not be dazzled by the illusionist mirrors around you which are mostly short-lived,” he said.