By Auwal Ahmed Ibrahim, Goronyo The world is not static, nothing remains unchanged forever, even our lives. In the field of knowledge, we di...
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By Auwal Ahmed Ibrahim, Goronyo
The world is not static, nothing remains unchanged forever, even our lives. In the field of knowledge, we dig deeper for new ideas, opportunities and improvement. Change is pertinent, and it is the only permanent thing that makes our lives either good or bad.
Change is inevitable, it is in every place, its dynamism affects the way we think, act and plan our education. The system of education of today is not like the system of yesterday. Education in present Nigeria is different from before the coming of the missionaries. In the North, the formal education before the inversion of the colonial masters was in the form of folktales and plays. Change brought new things to us into our system of education where we have science apparatus and teaching modules.
I believe every reputable Mass Communication (Masscom) field researcher will be shocked to see this caption of news: “Unbundling of Mass Communication in tertiary institutions untimely — JAMB Registrar” because it is about a conception of knowledge. This is not an issue of culture, dogma, myth, fable or opinion, but a professor's comment from scientific findings, how verifiable is the research? It may be because the area of specialization differed because Professor Ishaq Olarewaju Oloyede, the JAMB Registrar is a professor in Arabic and Islamic Studies.
Journalism is as old as man, while Mass Communication existed since when man can communicate and share information, the world continues to evolve into a digital world as many branches of journalism breed. Mass Communication is growing bigger and changing the old trends of sending and receiving information. The world is tightening together and becoming blended because of technology. To see the future and the changes taking place in technological development, Marshall McLuhan coined the term Global Village in 1964 in his essay “Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man”. This means that Media is evolving and manifesting from cultural to modernity, from archaic to civil and from print to digital and the world is now a global room. This means curricula must change to fit the moment and break through into the new existing areas of learning.
The social media that we never think about existed in 1997 for rapid information dissemination and global consumption in a twinkle of an eye messages are sent and received. While the branches of media outlets were born. Why the area of study should remain unchanged?
Mass Communication is integrated into multimedia components blending the new and the old media together for message transfer. Even though this concept will keep reviving the old media, it forms the different channels of communication together and revives them. Nigeria can't go backwards because the world is progressing, we can't find this orthodox practice of journalism in the developed world. We can't afford to be different.
The traditional media are fading out with the replacement of the new media. The radio is not even a good example of media practice in this 21st Century as the field is advancing with technology like Artificial Intelligence (AI). The example given by the JAMB Registrar is shabby and shamble because opportunities in the digital media are far more than in the traditional media. Students and street journalists have free platforms at their fingertips to create and disseminate messages. YouTube gave users the opportunity to create television stations, get money from advisers and pay from the YouTube company. Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and podcast channels are occupying spaces of the old media, and no one can stop the future. These social media platforms can be run by one or more persons to generate money for information dissemination, unlike the traditional media that require massive capital, multi-staff and sophisticated gadgets to operate.
Film and theatre art are forms of Mass Communication, but little attention is given to them in the area since Mass Communication was crafted out of the English Language. Public Relations and advertisement also have little attention because they were added to the course as the Mass Communication curriculum advanced. The only good change that can improve professionalism in Mass Communication is the unbundling for perfection.
How can it be possible for one to be a layout designer, a photographer, a cinematographer, an editor of news? Furthermore, a writer of programs, a newscaster, an actor, a graphic designer, a social media content creator, or a program's presenter? It is also huge for one to master advertising, and public relations in one course of study. This is why the unbundling came and split Mass Communication into seven courses in the university and three in the polytechnic.
The unbundled courses in the university are journalism and media studies; public relations; advertising; broadcasting; film and multimedia studies; development communication studies; and information and media studies.
But, the insider, erudite and world-class professor in the world of journalism once counter those with opinions on the unbundling of Mass Communication. Prof. Ralph Akinfeleye who was the first African to be elected into the prestigious Council of the World Journalism Education Congress, WJEC, for a period of three years has counter testimony of the unbundling of Mass Communication. Professor Ralph is a pathsetter in journalism and the pioneer of campus radio and television in Nigeria's academic industry. While Professor Ralph was the Head of the Department of Mass Communication at the University of Lagos he used his prowess to convince the Nigeria Broadcasting Commission to grant licenses to Departments of Mass Communication to operate radio and television stations for practical purposes, and these were new things that happened in the 2003.
In an interview with newsmen in 2020, Professor Ralph counter those seeing the unbundling as untimely saying, “Well, the first assessment of the unbundling is that it is long overdue. Again, the misconception that Mass Communication is about to be phased out is not true.”
“The reason for the unbundling is to meet the current trend, which entails reducing the workload of our students when they graduate, ... “. NUC Director of Corporate Affairs Ibrahim Yakasai bashed the idea of Mass Communication to remain as a chunk course stating that “Instead of being a ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’, students can know a bit of everything and be a master in one.”
In the aspect of the polytechnics the National Board for Technical Education, NBTE, split Mass Communication into three courses Journalism and Media Studies, Strategic Communication and Media Studies and then Film and Multimedia Production, adding that a student can specialize in one aspect. While we await the split of the course in the diploma level.
The unbundling of Mass Communication is the best thing to happen to journalism as it will create more opportunities, lubricate the economy and improve professionalism in the media industries and public relations activities and as the course rebirths unlimited opportunities for students, its fusion is unstoppable.
Auwal Ahmed Ibrahim is a mass communication lecturer, Kaduna Polytechnic, sends articles via auwalgoronyo@gmail.com
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