Jadavpur University to stop diploma in journalism course due to a lack of takers

The diploma course in Journalism and Mass Communication at Jadavpur University has been ongoing since 1989 and, remarkably, has remained continuous without breaks until this year. The Jadavpur University has decided to shut down this particular program for this year because of a complete absence of applications by hopefuls. The application website for this program closed on December 3, and there were only a meager 60 applications at that point. None of these will actually enroll and thus cannot be economical; hence, this particular program at the Faculty of Interdisciplinary Studies, Law, and Management (FISLM) will be discontinued for this year.

Jadavpur University’s Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Chiranjib Bhattacharjee, commented: “This has been taken as an internal matter by the department themselves through the Board of Studies. The reason is: the number of persons opting for this course has been declining steadily. Students are opting for formal degrees rather than diplomas.” In regard to the controversies that exist in the department, the vice-chancellor stated: “Those are old matters. There have been several reviews regarding the complaints that have been made. We have settled that issue and will issue marked photocopies accordingly. We do not see any relevance between those complaints and this issue.”

FISLM Dean Dr. Partha Sarathi Chakraborty told News Ei Samay: “Only 60 applications have been received this time. Maybe only 30 to 40 could have joined. It is not feasible for us to bear all the charges for the whole program. That is why this program has been temporarily stopped this year.”

Blaming the absence of interest from candidates for the never-ending controversies within the department since 2024 for the shutting down of the course, JU Executive Council member and English Department professor at JU Dr Manojit Mandal said that the oldest course is being closed down, except for the master’s course that was introduced in 2018.

“This is the oldest course, not the master's course that was introduced in 2018. This course was popular and was running for three and a half decades. We have repeatedly brought up the matter about the absence of qualified teachers at the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication. How the master's course was introduced despite the absence of teachers? This was initiated by the then Vice-Chancellor without our knowledge. Now the original course is being shut down,” said Prof Mandal.

Dr. Mandal also added, “There has also been controversy in the department. The teachers have been observed to award marks without scrutinizing the answer scripts or without awarding marks at all. All this has taken a toll on the department. This has also not been made known to the EC yet, and hence the university may not have been made aware of this decision. The master’s course is also in a deplorable state. “

But the university authority has decided not to hold the exam and thus postpone the programme for this year since the number of applicants is less than half the capacity of the programme. The university has not posted a cancellation notice, but only a refund notice in the evening of the 11th of December since the students would have to pay a certain fee to submit their applications.” “Students have already reached to appear in the exam, only to know that the exam has been cancelled,” he added.

Talking about this issue, a former student belonging to this course, Souhardya Deb, said that: “As a former Jadavpur University mass communication diploma course student, it is highly shameful and painful for me and for all associated with this course that this year, finally, it has been observed that the admissions for the course are not processed this year. In last 2-3 years, actually, the condition of this department is continuously deteriorating, from a decrease in faculty facilities to a decrease in proper infrastructure as well."

Aspirant's perspective News: Ei Samay: They talked to a student who was planning to take admission in this course. “I am also an employed student, planning to take preparation for that. Then I went to check our help-desk WhatsApp group for last-year questions. A senior conveyed every piece of news to us. That was just one day before the exam. They should have come up with better ideas,” said this student. With the shutting down of the diploma course, now the future of the Journalism and Mass Communication master’s course in Jadavpur University is also uncertain.