MHC to source scholarships for journalists

As part of its five year capacity building plan, the Media High Council (MHC) will embark on seeking scholarships for media practitioners as a strategy to bridging the professional gap within the sector.The development is one of the many recommendations highlighted in a draft report of the media strategic plan.Speaking at a consultative meeting on the draft report, last week, Alphonse Nkusi, the senior media development specialist at Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) backed the idea of seeking scholarships for media practitioners, saying it is a key strategy.“What is more important at the moment is doing advocacy of getting the scholarships,” said Nkusi.The identifiable gaps in the Media Sector in Rwanda that require strategic interventions to bridge them are limited readership, low level of professionalism and skills, limitations to sustainability and viability of media organisations, limited knowledge of media reach and its potential and underdeveloped professionalism.Equipping practitioners and media managers with more skills was projected as one of the key strategies to bridging the gaps.Speaking to The New Times, the Executive Secretary of Media High Council, Emmanuel Mugisha pointed out that currently, in Rwanda, not many journalists are going for post graduate diplomas because they do not have financial ability.“This is why we need these scholarships to build a strong human resource base. We have stakeholders’ networks which we intend to consider while looking for these scholarships,” said Mugisha.

National

MHC to source scholarships for journalists