The Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Owerri, has shone like a star at the on-going national conference on curriculum development in Kano, as critical stakeholders in Mass Communication gave kudos to Rector of the institution, Engr. Dr. Michael Arimanwa FNSE, JP, for setting the ball rolling in the unbundling of Mass Communication programme in the nation’s Polytechnics, a move hailed across the country. This affirms the adage that Federal Polytechnic Nekede leads while others follow if they could.
Speaking at the Kano workshop holding at Tahir Guest Palace Kano, NBTE director of curriculum development, Mallam Musa Isgogo praised the initiative of Engr. Arimanwa on the unbundling issue, pointing out that apart from initiating and successfully hosting the first national conference on the issue, FEDPONEK has fulfilled all its financial requirements for the commencement of the programme.
Mallam Isgogo, noted that the application by FEDPONEK for the unbundling of Mass Communication programme and the subsequent July workshop in Owerri provided the window for UNICEF to make a case for inclusion of Child Right Reporting into the curriculum as a general course. He urged other Polytechnics yet to meet their financial requirements for the unbundling exercise to do so to the NBTE to enable the remaining two prongs of the unbundled mass communication programme to be quickly attended to.
It will be recalled that FEDPONEK, last July, hosted a national conference of the stakeholders in the Polytechnic education for the unbundling of Mass Communication programme, after creating a new school, School of Mass Communication and Information to house the emerging five proposed departments.
The move paid off recently as the supervisory body, NBTE, after series of follow-up meetings and consultations on the unbundling proposal gave its nod, hence the Kano 6-day pre-critique workshop to develop a draft national curriculum for new courses relevant to one of the three approved departments for the Higher National Diploma (HND) Programme, (Strategic Communication and Media Studies) for the nation’s polytechnics. The other departments include: Journalism and Media Studies as well as Film and Multimedia Production. Among the new courses to be studied alongside updated existing ones is Child Rights Reporting, a brainchild of United Nation Children Fund (UNICEF).
Similarly, UNICEF consultant, Dr. Noel Ihebuzor, also applauded the initiative of FEDPONEK Rector on the unbundling exercise, describing the three approved departments as a modest step that would be easier to manage. He also stated that the Child-Right Reporting course would equip graduates of Strategic Communication and Media Studies with the right tools to report child-right promotion effectively.
According to him, issues of child-right promotion should be properly reported as children constitute fifty percent of the population; hence anything that will affect their lives should be given proper attention because a healthier child is a happier child.
In his remarks, UNICEF Communication Specialist, Dr. Geoffrey Njoku who was favourably disposed to the unbundling of the mass communication programme stated that the Owerri conference for the exercise provided the needed opportunity for UNICEF to make presentation for mainstreaming of Child Right Reporting into the school curriculum after ten years of its school to school advocacy programme on child right promotion,
Dr. Njoku, explained that with the inclusion of the course in the school curriculum, potential journalists would be trained to become child-friendly and know the rights of the child while in school.
Meanwhile, NBTE boss Prof. Idris M. Bugeje, while declaring the event open, urged the participants to look at the prevalent child right violation issue critically in their assignment, describing it as a disturbing global issue begging for serious attention.
Hear him: “In all your places and even in the streets of Kano where you are now, one will see evidence of the global violation of child right. I urge you to look at the issue without sentiment. This is a great national assignment,” the NBTE boss stated.
Professor Bugaje who was ably represented by his aide, Ibrahim Bashir Belle, disclosed that NBTE is also working towards unbundling some other courses including Computer programme for which FEDPONEK is the first to apply.
In their joint address, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, Mrs. Lydia Shehu Jafiya and Director Advocacy/Child Rights Information Bureau, Madam Mary Megwa commended UNICEF for its unyielding support to the federal government of Nigeria and all its activities towards ensuring that the rights of Nigerian children are upheld.
Both officials who were represented by Zira Zakka Nagga, assistant chief information officer CRIB of federal ministry of information and culture stated teachers of mass communication has a great responsibility to produce graduates who will protect the rights of children through their stories and therefore, tasked the participants to come up with a curriculum that will serve to impart the right knowledge the students need to protect and promote the rights of the child.
Other participants at the workshop include Dr. Yenusu Bangboye, Executive Secretary of Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria (BON), Mrs. Fankeye of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA International), Aiyelabelan Chinwe Jameelah of Federal Polytechnic Offa, Binta Mohammed Lawal, Kano State Polytechnic, Aminu Sani Inuwa, NBTE Kaduna, Dr. Jide Johnson, Institute of Journalism Lagos, Mrs Esther Damisa of NBTE Kaduna Farida Amad Umar, NBTE Kaduna, Samaila Balarabe HUK Polytechnic Katsina, Emma. C. Ogu of the Federal Polytechnic Nekede and many others.
It is noteworthy that Federal Polytechnic Nekede has always been taking the lead in curriculum development. This is one critical area the Arimanwa administration has performed immensely well. The unbundling of the Mass Communication Studies and Computer Studies into units and departments is bound to produce excellent manpower in specific areas that explore the two disciplines. This notably conforms with the modern realities and dynamics of this digital era than the forms they used to be. It is laudable that the Federal Polytechnic Nekede has blazed a trail in this regard, thus thinking ahead when others are just comfortable with the current knowledge forms.
It bears saying that upon assumption as 8th substantive Rector of the institution, Arimanwa increased the number of Schools in the Federal Polytechnic Nekede from five to seven in only four years. He also phenomenally increased the number of programmes from about forty to sixty five. Yet, he is not resting on his oars as pragmatic plans are underway to introduce more programmes and even unbundle departments that need to be unbundled for the purpose of efficiency. The implication of this is that Rector Arimanwa is steadily making Nekede a destination of choice for candidates seeking admission to higher institutions. No one would like to go to a distant institution in search of a choice programme because Nekede almost has all the choice programmes a modern Nigerian Polytechnic runs.
Already, the Rector is on the verge of opening a new School that would house unbundled departments from Computer Studies. This would create room for an expanded curriculum, manpower and of course, knowledge forms. Evidently, FEDPONEK under Arimanwa leads all Nigerian Polytechnics in the area of curriculum development and resource expansion. Thus, the Polytechnic is living up to its calling as a modern higher citadel of learning with its burden of knowledge impartation, research and social development. Markedly, all the successes recorded so far are attributable to the dynamism of leadership brought to bear by the Rector.
