Sydney Casely Hayford Incurs The Wrath Of GIJ Students As They Demand Apology

The Students' Representative Council (SRC) of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) has read a very unfortunate comment attributed to Mr. Casely Hayford of Occupy Ghana ( refer to image for details). The statement was said to have been made on Citi FM's Saturday flagship program "The Big Issues" on 20th January 2018 and captured in several commentaries on social media.

According to him, female students of the Ghana Institute of Journalism are more "interested in fashion parades than empowering themselves".

The SRC finds his statement to be very sexist, unfortunate, unwarranted, unguided, without basis and an insult to the values of the Ghana Institute of Journalism.

Mr. Casely Hayford in his statement sought to suggest that GIJ female students are only interested in fashion and that should partially be blamed for the "falling" standards in Journalism in the country.

GIJ SRC rejects his assertion completely and would like to call on him to do the honourable thing of apologizing and retracting his statement.

We would also like to use this opportunity to draw his attention to the following:

1. GIJ remains the topmost Journalism Institution in Ghana. Till date, GIJ has produced the finest of Journalists and Communication professionals who have served and continue to serve this country in various capacities. The media ecosystem is incomplete without the contribution of the Ghana Institute of Journalism and especially its female students and products. GIJ is still in the business of producing journalists who are very professional.

2. GIJ has a robust practical teaching and learning structure that is designed to ensure that students of the Institute come out ready for the inky fraternity. If Casely Hayford and other like-minded people who support such sexist comment care to know, much of the country's finest female Journalists and Communication professionals have been trained at the Ghana Institute of Journalism. The list is a very tall and non-exhaustive one-the like of;

1. Adjoa Yeboah Afari
2.Gifty Anti
3. Naa Ashorkor
4.Kate Addo
5. Mabel Aku Banesseh
and a host of others who are not "engaging in fashion parades" in the industry but are shaping the course of Communication and Journalism in the country.

The current female students of the Institute are embarking on similar paths these stalwarts took during their stay at GIJ as many of them are taking up internship opportunities and chasing excellence as far as the learning of the profession is concerned.

It is even more interesting to note that the comment by Mr. Hayford was about the performance of Journalists at the recent Presidential Press Encounter; an issue the SRC has already addressed and made recommendations on.

The said recommendations have been published widely on various online portals.

It is very unfortunate that an opinion leader like Casely Hayford would not use his platform and such opportunities to discuss the quality of the state of Journalism independent of schools and of gender. The quality of Journalism, he and others should be minded, is a product of many things in this county and not necessarily the training Institute or the conduct of a specific gender.

It borders on the vision of media houses, the ability of the media houses to employ professionals, enforcement of standards by regulators and stakeholders and several other contingencies. It is shocking that he, who is supposed to know better, would reduce the discussion to such sexist commentary.

Casely Hayford has to apologize for his misrepresentation of females in GIJ and GIJ at large.

Signed
Nathaniel Alpha
General Secretary
GIJ-SRC