COLOMBO – Sri Lanka plans to draft a bill seeking to establish a Chartered Institute of Professional Journalists, cabinet spokesman Bandula Gunawardana said on Tuesday (16).
The move was initiated in 2021, when the then cabinet of ministers gave the greenlight to a proposal to establish an institute to be named ‘Chartered Institute of Journalists’ and appointed committee under the supervision of the Secretary to the Media Ministry to take the necessary measures.
On Monday (15) the cabinet approved a proposal to draft a bill based on a rough draft put together by the 2021 committee. The name of the Institute is also to be changed to ‘Chartered Institute of Professional Journalists’.
“We are setting this up to improve the quality of journalism in the country and to raise it to international standards,” Gunawardana said addressing the weekly cabinet briefing on Tuesday.
“There is a chartered institute for journalists in London. The purpose is to bring similar quality into Sri Lanka, especially to create a young educated generation of journalists who are professional and equipped with advanced knowledge,” he said.
Gunawardana, who is also Media Minister, said President Ranil Wickrememsinghe has asked ministers not to intervene in the activities of government institutes and to set up a director board of professionals in their respective fields.
Under the proposed institute for journalists, Gunawardena said, professional qualifications for journalists such as certificates, diplomas, degrees and postgraduate programs can be commenced following international standards.
“We can take the London chartered institute as an example to set up ours. We are trying to get this bill approved by the attorney general’s department and hopefully establish it within my tenure as the subject minister,” he said.
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