Babcock assures journalists of postgraduate sponsorship, canvasses life insurance

President and Vice-Chancellor of Babcock University, Ilisan-Remo, Ogun State, Professor Tayo Ademola,  has urged the Federal Government and other relevant authorities to make and implement policies that would ensure media practitioners are not only paid salaries and allowances commensurate with what he called hard nature and risks involved in the performance of their jobs but also to be provided with life insurance.

He reaffirmed commitment to ensuring the postgraduate scholarship offered by the university to education correspondents was reviewed and sustained in favour of beneficiaries.

He spoke at a recent media end-the -of-year event organised by the university for newsmen covering the nation’s education sector held on the institution’s campus.

According to him, media plays a critical role in a nation’s development, being  a strong facilitator of socio-economic growth and political stability.

He explained that though media practitioners labour  hard to keep the country well informed, and to hold leaders accountable for their actions even at risks of their lives and families, so little is being given to them by the same country to appreciate their sacrifices.

“So, we as a university would, want government and relevant authorities to see to the needs and conditions of journalists in the country, particularly by formulating policies that will guarantee them better remunerations and life insurance,” he  said.

Professor Ademola charged journalists to uphold always the tenets of truth, objectivity, fairness and integrity in their reportage, in spite of the trials and tribulations many of them faced.

He promised that Babcock University would, on its part, continue to support willing journalists who are members of the Education Writers Association of Nigeria (EWAN) with scholarship awards for postgraduate studies, which he said two of its members had already benefited.

The vice-chancellor disclosed that the institution’s enrollment had increased from 8,695 to 9,573, comprising 48 foreign students.

He added that the university had five secondary schools against three which it had five years ago, saying its teaching hospital cardiovascular centre had equally performed up to 354 open-heart surgeries within the period.

He said the university would soon start running environmental sciences at undergraduate level from 2021, assuring that the institution would continue to produce graduates for global relevance, as well as research and community engagements.

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