Certificates were handed over to the six students of the 11th batch of the Statesman Print Journalism School (SPJS) at the annual convocation ceremony today.
The ceremony that marked the conclusion of 11th postgraduate diploma course in print journalism, was attended by Ravindra Kumar, Editor and Managing Director, The Statesman; Sujata Sen, CEO of Future Hope and former director of British Council, Kolkata; Peter Rimmele, resident representative of Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) and Dr. Michael Feiner, German consul general in Kolkata.
Mr Kumar congratulated the students and wished them good luck and success in their future endeavour. While stressing on the importance of print journalism at the age of multimedia and television news, he reminded the students of their duties as responsible journalists and conscious citizens.
Ms Sen, who distributed the certificates to the students, advised the would-be-journalists to uphold the noble values of neutrality and objectivity in the collection and presentation of news and urged them to be aware of the growing menace of fake news through the social media platforms.
The post-graduate diploma certificates in print journalism were distributed among six students of the SPJS- Sakshat Chandok, Narendra Marik, Nakshatra Pain, Ratnamanjari Chakraborty, Diksha Rupasa and Saheli Chakraborty.
Meanwhile, Mr Rimmele emphasised on the freedom of expression in an age when repression from various quarters are threatening the Press freedom while the German consul general focused on the mutual cooperation and exchange between Germany and India. He said that the collaboration between SPJS and Konrad Adeneur Stiftung exemplifies that effort.
The director of SPJS, Subrata Nag Choudhury, informed the guests about the reportage by the students on significant incidents in the city in 2018 such as the Majerhat bridge collapse and the fire in Calcutta Medical College and Hospital. He also spoke about the values of good journalism and the importance of safeguarding the freedom of the Press.