…We did not come to Crucify – Prof Ajilore

By Agu Onyekachi, Ali Hope, Alinta Joy, Edennaji Ezinne and Uzoegbu Nnenna

Enugu – Agbani – From the Head of Department to the staff and students of Mass Communication, ESUT, expectations are high as they wait with palpable enthusiasm, the report of the re-accreditation exercise by the National Universities Commission (NUC).

The Department on Friday underwent re-accreditation process conducted by a three-member team of inspectors from the NUC.

The NUC Team led by Professor Kolade Ajilore of Afe Babalola University (ABUAD), Ekiti State, inspected facilities in the department to determine if it merited the minimum requirement for re-accreditation.

Speaking in an interview with ESUT Monitor, the Head of Department, Dr Chidiebere Ezinwa expressed optimism that the report of the exercise would be favourable to the department adding that preparations for the visit demanded long hours, personal sacrifices, and dedication from all members of the department.

Dr Ezinwa who thanked the ESUT Management, Dean of the Faculty of Management Sciences, staff and students of the department for their support, said the department did all within its powers to scale the hurdle and remains expectant.

“We did our best and we left the rest to God,” Dr Ezinwa started.

“We are not aiming to score hundred per cent neither did we aim to fail. The team came and inspected so many things in the department including the ESUT Radio, the Television studio, Public Relations and Advertising Lab, the Newsroom, Photo Studio, the Library, Lecture Halls, Offices and the environment.

“Like I said earlier, we did our best. We are grateful to the Vice-Chancellor and his team for their support. The Dean of the faculty came through for us. Our Postgraduate students as well as some alumni also supported us. And the staff and students of the department rendered massive help, everybody was involvd. As expected, we got mixed reactions from the team when they visited some of the facilities we have. In most cases we got a pat on the back, in some, we were asked to make improvements, so we are expectant. The department is a work in progress. Remember that our studios were burnt down by fire some years back, so we are on rebuilding process and we hope to get there sooner than later,” he said.

On his part, the leader of the team, Professor Kolade Ajilore said the team did not come to crucify the department but to assess its facilities to ensure that it has the minimum requirement to achieve effective teaching and learning.

“We have gone round the department and I must say that you people did well in some areas while others need improvement. We didn’t come here to condemn, our mission is to make an honest assessment and write our report which will be communicated soon,” he said.

 Some students interviewed praised the department for its efforts in providing the needed facilities and expressed hope that the outcome of the exercise would be in the overall interest of the university

Other members of the NUC Team include Professor Barigbm Gbara of Rivers State University and Mrs Chimezie Opara, representative of NUC.