The news that the National University of Rwanda is securing premises in Kigali to relocate the School of Journalism and Communication could not have come at a better time, with the newly promulgated media law in force.

Despite the remarkable achievements registered in Rwanda for the last 15 years, it has been widely observed that the media, despite registering its own milestones, has not been growing at the same pace as other sectors.

The fact that there has not been a fully-fledged journalism school in Kigali, where almost all media houses—private and public are located- has acted as a major impediment to the growth of the profession. 

Today, of the 400 plus, journalists practicing in the country, only 25 percent have at least a university degree and the trade largely attracts a half baked workforce.

However, having the largest number of these journalists working in Kigali, transferring the school of Journalism to the capital will facilitate this pool of untrained journalists to upgrade their qualifications.

This also comes in handy, given the fact that the new law obliges practitioners to have a certain level of formal training in the field of journalism.

With new school in Kigali, the ball lies in the journalists’ court, to make good use of this critical opportunity.

This incentive will most certainly bridge the capacity gap that has existed within the trade for so long, and will eliminate mediocrity from the profession.

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