Plans underway to place NAFTI under Education Ministry
The Ministry of Information and Media Relations in collaboration with the Ministry of Education will come out with an action plan to place the National Arts and Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) under the Ministry of Education.
Mr Mahama Ayariga, Minister of Information and Media Relations, who made this known during a visit to the NAFTI, said the transition is to enable the Institute to be under the GET fund and turn into a fully fledged Media Arts University.
Mr Ayariga assured the institute of its support in developing an administrative framework with its stakeholders and present a proposal to parliament for its University status.
He said this would provide the necessary professional skills to grow the creative economy in the country.
He said the Ministry is working with the government to access a credit facility to assist the Institute in its restructuring, infrastructural and technological development.
Mr Ayariga said government is committed to resource the creative industry, to enable it to obtain international standards and urged the institute to be creative and find ways of mobilizing resources to expand the institute to admit more students.
He lauded the authorities for the great feat the academic facility has achieved despite the little resources available to them.
Professor Linus Abraham, Rector of NAFTI said the Institute has introduced a Department of Multimedia Design and Production and a Department of Broadcast Journalism and has also started a professional master’s programmes in Digital Film Making and Broadcast Journalism.
He said it is the Institute’s hope that government would support the necessary facilities to transform NAFTI into a sub-regional centre of excellence in training in the Creative and Media Arts.
He mentioned funding as a major challenge to the institute, hindering the maintenance and improvement of facilities, adding that, with support, the institute could enhance teaching and learning to international standards and appealed to the Ministry to assist the institution to achieve its developmental plans.
The Minister toured the premises and departments of the institute to have a fair idea about its operations and watched a documentary produced by a student of the institute.
Source: GNA