‘Not recognised’ the RSS-linked journalism college in Kerala, JNU says

Hyderabad: Jawaharlal Nehru University reportedly said that it has not ‘recognized’ the RSS-linked journalism college in Kerala which reportedly claims to be ‘India’s first JNU-affiliated journalism college’, The Indian Express reported.

The institute, Mahatma Gandhi College of Mass Communication (MAGCOM), has announced its first convocation on April 17 with JNU Vice-Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit to be in attendance.

Distancing themselves from the institution, officials at JNU said that it has ‘only signed an MoU for PG Diploma courses with the aim of academic collaboration’.

However, JNU’s claims contradict the information supplied on its website where MAGCOM is listed as ‘recognised research institution’ alongside seven defence institutes and 23 research institutes.

The website said that ‘JNU has granted recognition and accreditation to the following prestigious institutions across the country. This has added to the true national character of the University. Representatives of these Institutions serve on various academic and statutory bodies of the JNU. Similarly, JNU faculty also participate in the academic bodies of these Institutions’.

It is reported that Vice-Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit did not responded to calls and messages, according to The Indian Express.

The editor-in-chief of Kesari, an RSS-affiliated magazine launched in 1951 and functioning in Kozhikode, is the official mentor of MAGCOM.

College director A K Anuraj is quoted as saying that the college’s PG Diploma in Mass Communication course received affiliation by JNU in 2024.

The organisers of the convocation said in the invitation that ‘India’s first JNU-affiliated journalism college is gearing up for a historic milestone… Our first convocation ceremony’.

Anuraj claimed that students got JNU enrolment numbers, adding that their ‘degrees will be offered by JNU’

The official mentor of MAGCOM, Kesari chief editor N R Madhu, said that JNU Vice-Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit will grace the ceremony.

But JNU officials claimed that ‘there is no recognition or affiliation of the institute with JNU. JNU only signed an MoU for PG Diploma courses. This is only limited to academic exchanges and sharing of expertise’.

Madhu reportedly said that alongside its PG Diploma in Journalism, the college offers PG Diploma in Content and Technical Writing.

Madhu added that the college aims to develop ‘nationalistic journalism’at a time ‘when several anti-national elements are at play in the media’.