The Coalition on Media Education & Teaching (CoMET) was formed at a national consultation of media academics held on Monday at the Punjab University Department of Digital Media in collaboration with International Media Support (IMS) and Freedom Network.
The consultation, moderated by Dr Savera Shami and Dr Shafiq Ahmad Kamboh, was attended by around 50 professors from media and communications studies departments of universities and colleges across Pakistan.
The coalition announcement and consultation were based on the findings and recommendations of a new landmark study that has mapped the sectoral distribution, academic programmes and industry linkages of universities and colleges offering degrees in media studies.
The report titled “Modernizing Media Education in Pakistan”, produced by IMS, Mediastan and IRADA, builds on a survey of 92 media studies departments to reveal low levels of resources and collaboration: Around 40% of the media studies departments do not have access to digital labs to train students and most departments (60%) do not have formal partnerships with news organizations.
The report offers a 16-point roadmap for structural reforms, curriculum updates, faculty development and resources for media degree programmes.
IMS program manager and co-author of the study Adnan Rehmat said structured partnerships between media studies departments and news organizations are important to make students aware of journalism ethics, media laws and newsroom practices.
Participants discussed issues and solutions related to technology infrastructure, media literacy, countering disinformation, localisation, ethical use of AI, faculty training and freedom of expression during the meeting to improve the quality and relevance of media higher education.
Chief guest senior journalist Mujeebur Rehman Shami said countering online disinformation through reliable journalism is the need of the hour as it is becoming difficult to distinguish truth from falsehoods on social media.
Speaking at the occasion, Dr. Khalid Mahmood, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Dean of the Faculty of Information and Media Studies at Punjab University, said media and information literacy should be introduced at all education levels to build public awareness.
“Media literacy education should not be limited to students of media,” He said. “The entire nation needs to be trained in media literacy.”
Dr. Savera Shami, head of the Department of Digital Media at Punjab University, welcomed the Higher Education Commission decision to include a Media & Information Literacy course in the updated media studies curriculum, She said efforts are ongoing to make it a compulsory course for all university students.
Iqbal Khattak, Executive Director of Freedom Network, said disinformation remains one of journalism’s greatest challenges.
“Countering online disinformation requires a structured institutional approach which can be supplied by educational institutions,” he said.
Dr. Bushra Hameedur Rehman, Dean of BNU School of Media and Mass Communication and President of Media and Communication Academic Professionals (MCAP), urged humane and contextualized pedagogy to strengthen media education.
Aftab Alam, Executive Director of IRADA, stressed cooperation between academia and civil society to guide media reforms.
Dr. Shafiq Ahmad Kamboh, Punjab University Assistant Professor and co-author of the study, said investments in faculty training are needed to sustain the quality of media education and keep up with technological change in the media sector.
Speakers affirmed that the new coalition would serve as a national platform of collaboration to equip media graduates of the future with modern digital and ethical skills to serve the public interest.
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