ASSESSING JOURNALISM SAFETY EDUCATION AND RESEARCH IN NIGERIA A STUDY OF POLYTECHNIC STUDENTS IN NORTHEAST NIGERIA

ABSTRACT This study assesses the state of journalism safety education and research in Nigeria, with a specific focus on polytechnic students in the Northeast region. The study aimed to evaluate the extent of safety education integration into journalism curricula, assess the effectiveness of existing safety training programs, and investigate how polytechnic-trained journalists acquire safety knowledge. Adopting a qualitative research design, the study relied on secondary data from institutional records, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) curricula, course outlines, policy documents, and scholarly publications related to 12 selected polytechnics in Northeast Nigeria. A sample of 600 student records was reviewed using thematic content analysis and descriptive statistics. The findings revealed that the integration of safety education into journalism curricula is minimal, fragmented, and inconsistent, with no dedicated safety courses and only superficial mentions within broader ethics and reporting modules. Consequently, journalists primarily acquire safety knowledge through informal, on-the-job experience (58.3%) and external workshops (25%), rather than through formal polytechnic education (8.3%). The study concludes that the current approach to journalism safety education in Nigerian polytechnics is profoundly inadequate, leaving graduates vulnerable in high-risk environments. It recommends that the NBTE mandate the integration of dedicated, practical safety modules, and calls for sustained collaboration between polytechnics, media organizations, and international bodies to institutionalize effective safety training, thereby enhancing journalist protection and strengthening democratic accountability in Nigeria. Keywords: Journalism Safety, Safety Education, Polytechnic Education, Northeast Nigeria, Curriculum Integration, Risk Assessment, Social Responsibility Theory.