BENGALURU: A premiere institute for journalism in Bengaluru, the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media (IIJNM) on Friday announced that it will no longer offer programmes in the field. After a legacy run for 24 years, the decision was taken as the institute failed to reach the minimum number of applicants for the academic year. IIJNM offered 11 months of undergraduate and postgraduate diplomas in three mediums -- Print, Broadcast and Multimedia Journalism.
In an email, addressed to the candidates who secured admission this year the management sought the bank details of the students to refund the fee amount.
“In the past 24 years, IIJNM has been a school of excellence in the Journalism profession offering the best programme among colleges in India. However, given the recent environment in which we have been operating, it is not possible to attract enough students to avoid huge financial losses to continue the programme,” read the email sent from IIJNM's official mail ID.
A permanent faculty member at the institute said, “It was rather unfortunate that the institute is closing down and we have to slowly come to terms with it, but this was the only option the management had.”
When asked what other steps will IIJNM take to help the students enrolled, the faculty member said right now the refund will be done within 10 days and hopefully the students find other colleges to pursue their course.
The course was set to begin on July 22. The email added, “Given the recent environment in which we have been operating, it is not possible to attract enough students to avoid huge financial losses to continue the programme.”
This came as a shock for not just the applicants but also the alumni present in almost all media houses across the country. Many took to social media to reminisce about their experience at the IIJNM, while some questioned the state of journalism schools in the country.
In 2023-24, around 28 students were admitted to the institute, 57 in 2022-23, 63 in 2021-2022 and 75 students in 2020-21.
Last year COMMITS (Convergence of Media, Multimedia and Information Technology) another popular journalism school in the city drew the curtains after 23 long years, citing similar reasons for dwindling admissions.
"There was no warning or heads-up given. Since I got my admission early, I didn’t bother applying to many other places as a backup. So, when I got the email, I was completely clueless and left with absolutely no options. Now I have to choose a college for my Master's based on whoever is still taking admissions, and there are only a few options."
"Most of my friends and colleagues have already started classes at their regular colleges. This isn’t just about the financial aspects but also my choice of education," said an applicant who filed for admission at IIJNM.