By Onyekachukwu Agu and Amaka Okoli

As staff and students of the Department of Mass Communication, Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) continue to yearn for the unbundling of the department into a faculty, the Vice- Chancellor of the university, Prof Aloysius-Michaels Okolie has offered explanation on why the management is yet to implement the approval for the unbundling

Speaking in an exclusive interview with ESUT Monitor, the VC said apart from Mass Communication, the Department of Architecture also got approval for unbundling but regretted that the management is limited by funding to embark on the projects.

While describing Mass Communication as a pivotal department with potential to excel as a faculty with six departments, the VC said the funding for takeoff is critical because apart from providing the infrastructure, manpower will also be needed to management the faculty

“Mass Communication got their approval for unbundling about six years ago. It should have multiple departments within the Faculty of Mass Communication, about six, if I’m right, between four to six. Their own was the earliest approval. We have the intention to unbundle but we don’t have the financial capacity to embark on it now. We have not done the unbundling because inadequate funding.  

“Mass Communication has the potential to flourish as a faculty with six departments but the funding for takeoff is enormous. Both infrastructure and staffing are key components that must be factored in and right now, we don’t have them. But we are losing sleep over it,” the VC told ESUT Monitor

He noted that the management is keen in expanding the university adding that “Architecture is begging us for a faculty, and it has been approved by the regulatory body that it should be a distinct faculty instead of a department. It should be a faculty with about six departments.  We are looking into all these but the issue is that when you try to solve one problem, several other problems will spring up. However, we are not deterred. If we have the right resources today, we will unbundle Mass Communication and Architectures without delay.”