Latest News

Establish Media and Communication Studies Dept in OAU, don tells management

Published by

A senior lecturer in the Department of English Language, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Professor Rotimi Taiwo, has called for the establishment of a Department of Media and Communication Studies in the university.

Professor Taiwo made the recommendation on Tuesday, while delivering the university’s 319th inaugural lecture entitled Beyond the Text: Critical Discourse Analysis and the Quest for Meaning in Cyberspace Interaction, at the Oduduwa Hall of the institution.

He said the creation of such a department would lighten the burden on the Department of English of the university which he described as the largest in any university in the country in terms of students’ enrolment.

“The fact that a good number of our graduates end up becoming successful media practitioners is an indication of their keen interest in media and communication.

“While language is the tool for communicating in cyberspace, the essential practices of communication and the media are equally vital to success in any interaction.

“I strongly believe that the establishment of a Department of Media and Communication Studies is long overdue in this university. Ours is the only first generation university that does not have such department.

“The department, when established, will complement the work of Department of English and reduce the pressure for admission into English. English is the most desired course in the Faculty of Arts. Most students who could not be admitted to study Law, the natural first course of choice for Arts students, end up in the Department of English.

The Professor, who has 83 publications to his credit, also called for a blend of e-learning technique with the traditional classroom approach by further exploring the potential that technology offers.

“While we must give credit to this university for pioneering the use of ICT in teaching and research in Nigeria, we will need to catch up with new developments, especially with the growth in our students’ population over the years.

“I am sure a number of us (students and lecturers) are sometimes overwhelmed with our large classes and the limited spaces available. The traditional face-to-face teaching should be replaced with blended learning, which is a combination of e-learning with the traditional classroom methods in order to create a new hybrid methodology.

“This method will support classroom interactions with digital multimodal assets through the various social media platforms…

“The reality of our time is that the skills that are valued in education in the highly dynamic world we live in today, as opposed to a few decades ago, require students to be able to collaborate with others and explore their world in order to create, synthesize, interpret, and evaluate information. The traditional classroom alone can no longer take care of such skills,” he said.

Recent Posts

FUTA clarifies controversy surrounding Jamiu Basola’s admission status

The Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) has clarified issues on the admission status of…

5 minutes ago

E-visa system processes over 14,000 applications in six weeks — Interior minister

The minister explained that the e-visa system was introduced not only for migration management but…

30 minutes ago

Tinubu establishes diplomatic ties with Saint Lucia, offers OECS visa waivers

"promote cultural understanding that further strengthens the bond between Nigeria and the Eastern Caribbean states

43 minutes ago

EFCC: How I rejected $7,000 bribe for access to hack Premium Trust Bank — Witness

A prosecution witness, Mr Ajayi Michael Folaseye, on Monday, told the Federal High Court in…

46 minutes ago

Soludo orders probe into alleged brutality by anti-touting squad

Anambra Governor, Charles Soludo, has ordered an investigation into a viral video purportedly showing officers…

50 minutes ago

FG inaugurates NPA governing board

Clear boundaries between governance and management must be maintained for operational integrity and efficiency.

59 minutes ago

Welcome

Install

This website uses cookies.