Reporting on education is need of the hour

BHUBANESWAR: “Journalism in our country is regarded as missionary. Journalists convert a slogan to a movement for the development of the nation. To ensure RTE successful in the State, the role of media and civil society is more significant. Our journalists should give voice to voiceless and highlight the issues like education from grassroots level,” said veteran journalist and writer Subir Ghosh while addressing the journalists in the Media orientation workshop on “Education and RTE in Odisha” jointly organised by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Odisha on Friday here.

This is the continuation of a series of workshop initiated by UNICEF and IIMC to orient state media on development reporting. The theme was on implementation of the RTE Act in the state, its boundaries and prospects where most of the participants put their opinions regarding implementation, problems, difficulties and positive side of the RTE Act in the State.

Head of IIMC Dhenkanal Prof Mrinal Chatterjee presented a paper on ‘Reporting on Education and RTE in different media’ in the second session of the Workshop. “Covering events and reporting only ‘5W’s and 1 H’ is not the work of journalists, they should be analytical and report in a different way from the so called journalism practice,” said Chatterjee while talking about Development Journalism.

Among others, Officer-in-charge of UNICEF Odisha Padmavati Yedla, Communication Officer of UNICEF Odisha Prosun Sen, Assistant Director of Planning for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Odisha Deepak Roy, education specialist in UNICEF Odisha Lalita Patnaik and journalists of the State participated in the workshop.