ESUT Monitor Newspaper is now our Watchdog – ESUT Management
By Joseph Joy, Udeigwe Chidera and Precious Nwafor
Management of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology, ESUT, has described the ESUT Monitor Newspaper as the “Watchdog of the university.”
The Registrar, Mr Ambrose Ugwu stated this in a chat with the editorial team of the newspaper in his office. The University scribe who expressed delight over the rebirth of the newspaper said he was happy when he first saw the newspaper before the 19th Convocation ceremony held last month.
“I am very happy that this ESUT Monitor is back. The only way you can disseminate information is putting them down in writing. When I saw this paper earlier (during the Alumni Symposium), I was thinking that it’s somebody from Government House who used to come and share papers anytime we have function. I had to touch the Bursar and say ‘are you sure these people have not come to disrupt our event? Later on, I went through it, I saw pages, convocation messages, felicitations and then the activities of this current management. I said wow! This is complementing the ESUT Courier, and it’s very encouraging and very good.”
He however made an appeal for the cost of the paper to be reviewed considering that majority of the people to buy the paper is the students. He further advised that the management of the Newspaper should create stands at strategic places in the university and within the neighbouring communities where people can pick up the paper to get information about ESUT.
“The only thing I have to say is that I have seen the cover price, 500 Naira. It’s not that it’s not affordable, but you know the greater percentage of the people that will need this newspaper are the students. If there’s any way the price can be reduced so that many of them can buy it, that will be fine.
“Then you need to have a stand, where people can go and look at the latest information happening in the University. Again, you’ll have an interface with the PR Unit so that if there’s an event, some of your students who are on IT or who are not supposed to be in class, can go and cover it. I am very happy that this thing is back and I pray that it doesn’t go into extinction again.”
He expressed the management’s readiness to support the newspaper when called upon and charged the paper to criticize the management where it is failing
“If there’s any way that the management can assist, feel free to approach the management let us have a dialogue, and whenever we want to pay courtesy visit to any organisation, we can pick some copies. You people are now our watchdog, it is not the one the University is producing, which is actually the University management news. “Create columns where students will say things as it is, so that we can now feel the pulse of those we are leading. There are so many students who cannot vocally express themselves to say we’re being harassed or extorted. Create a forum where these things will be said, let it be anonymous. We’ll go through some of these things and synthesize it. That is why this administration is succeeding.”
