Pune University Puts On Hold Plan To Shift Journalism Department From Ranade Institute To Campus

Pune, 14th August 2021: Ahead of the visit by Maharashtra Higher Education Minister Uday Samant, Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) on Friday put on hold its plan to shift the Department of Communication and Journalism from Ranade Institute building, built in 1910, on FC Road to the SPPU campus. The varsity had planned to merge it with the Department of Media and Communication Studies on the sprawling campus on University Road.

However, Samant tweeted that he will go ahead with his plans to visit the Ranade Institute building located opposite Roopali Hotel on FC Road, today.

The merger of the departments was opposed by alumni as well as some student unions. The department has been finishing school for many journalists.

The SPPU was accused of plotting to hand over the Ranade Industrial and Economic Institute, popularly known as Ranade Institute, to private builders. In this context, Samant had announced that he would visit Ranade Institute on Saturday.

Earlier, the office-bearers of Pune Shramik Patrakar Sangh (Pune Union of Working Journalists) met SPPU Vice-Chancellor Nitin Karmalkar and made a statement regarding non-transfer and merger of the department. The decision to merge and relocate was then postponed.

In a circular issued on Friday evening, SPPU said, “The university has adopted the school system. As part of the changes, there was a proposal to relocate the Department of Communication and Journalism from Ranade Institute premises to merge it with the Department of Media and Communication Studies on the university campus.”

The university clarified that the Ranade Institute building is on a sub-lease agreement with the university. It is not owned by the university. Therefore, the discussion of the sale or transfer of land is not based on facts.”

According to the university, the NAAC assessment conducted in 2011 and 2017 directed the implementation of the school system immediately. Therefore, 54 departments of all the four academic branches were brought under the school system and 18 schools were set up last year. In this process, the departments with similarities were brought together for the benefit of academic coordination and administrative convenience.

“Under the same scheme, it was decided to merge the Department of Communication and Journalism with the Department of Media and Communication Studies. Its decision-making process consisted of a committee of concerned department heads, experts in the field of journalism, senior professors. Due to the limited space available to the journalism department, the issue of physical facilities was raised due to constraints on construction and repairs due to a pending case. There was a question of inconvenience and additional cost as students had to commute to and from the university for hostel facilities”, the university stated in the circular.

History of SPPU Journalism Department At Ranade Institute building

The origin of the Department of Communication and Journalism can be traced to an endowment of Rs 10,000 made by KA Kolhatkar and accepted by the University of Pune in 1956 for instituting the “Sandeshkar Kolhatkar Scholarship” for Marathi Journalism. A two-year, part-time diploma course in Journalism was inducted on 5th February 1964. The course was divided into junior and senior year of study, requiring the students to appear for five papers (carrying 100 marks each) at the end of each year. The classes were held in the evening. ’

The course was made a one-year full-time degree course from July 1973. The department became a full-fledged regular department of the University in 1976. Following the international and national trend, the nomenclature of the Department was changed in 1983 from “Department of Journalism” to “Department of Communication and Journalism”. The name of the degree awarded was also changed from B.J. to B.C.J.

A short-term part-time certificate course was instituted in 1979 in co-operation with the Pune Shramik Patrakar Sangh. It was upgraded to a Diploma in Journalism (Marathi Medium) course in 1986. The department has introduced a part-time post-graduate Diploma in Journalism with English as the medium of instruction from the academic year 2003-04. Detailed information about these Diploma courses is available on this site.

One-year Master of Communication and Journalism (MCJ) was introduced from the academic year 1993-94.

The department introduced a credit-point based semester system with effect from the academic year 2001-02.

The department changed the nomenclature of its Master’s programme to Master of Arts (Mass Communication and Journalism) and revised its syllabus from the academic year 2003-04. It was again changed to Master of Journalism and Mass Communication (MJMC) in 2010. Diploma in Journalism (English Medium) also was changed to Diploma in Mass Media.