JMC graduates are topping in their workplaces world-wide
Associate Professor Kingsley Ngange, HOD/JMC, University of Buea
According to Associate Professor Kingsley Lyonga La Ngange, HOD of Journalism & Mass Communication (JMC), the Department is the flag-ship of University of Buea. Banking on employers’ feedback, Dr.Ngange says JMC graduates are excelling world-wide in their workplaces. He talks about the challenges faced by JMC, his reforms and more in the following interview he granted AFRICA EXCELLENCE Editor-in-Chief, Christopher Ambe.
Excerpts:
Dr. Kingsley Ngange, you are Head of Department of Journalism & Mass Communication (JMC), University of Buea (UB)-Cameroon. What is so special about JMC/UB that yearly hundreds of applicants apply to do the programme?
Communication is at the center of all human endeavors. I think it is a major reason why, increasingly, people take interest in studying the science of the communication process.
Specifically to JMC/UB, the Department for over 25 years since inception was the lone Anglo-saxon space for training journalists and other communication experts in Cameroon, until the recent creation of the Department of Communication and Development, University of Bamenda. Besides JMC/UB f ronting Anglo-saxon traditions in Journalism and Mass Communication education in Cameroon, the Department has a rich curriculum. It is both engaging and progressive. The curriculum harnesses contemporary needs in the media industry. And the output of products from JMC is glaring. This output has served as marketing and branding for others to yearn for the Department. Since 2016, with the current crisis in the North West and South West regions, Buea has relatively been a safe haven and this served as a major pull factor for the overwhelming number of applicants in UB in general and JMC in particular. Finally and in some manner of laughs, I think people are drawn to celebrity status. Young people enjoy the public face and attention.
What better way is there to get a grab if not through the media? That’s how the Department earned the nick name “Show-Show Department”.
You were the first ex-student of same department to become a lecturer there. Again, you were the first student to defend a PhD in the Department. You have equally practised as a journalist and PRO. What major changes have you, as HoD, introduced in JMC to ensure that graduates of this department are always successful in an increasingly competitive job market-both nationally and internationally?
You forgot to mention that I am the first former student to become HOD there. Yes, I based my tenure as HOD on student-centered CHANGE. I became a student in JMC 23 years ago and have been around since then. And as someone who has been involved in the four dimensions of Journalism-education, practice, training and management for over two decades, I know exactly what changes are needed in the Department. So, we revamped the production of our training manuals and tools: The Chariot Radio, Chariot Newspaper and Chariot Magazine were given a new professional touch (with regular quality/professional content); we introduced beat-reporting in news writing courses in which the students are assigned (in beats) to cover the entire University (as such, the University is regularly reported in the news—same way the students will do in society upon graduation); regular postgraduate seminars for our students of professional and academic programmes; Monthly Guest Lectures with renowned professors in UB, ASMAC-Yaounde, the United Nations Mandated University for Peace, and around the world.
Earlier, I said JMC/UB is both engaging and progressive. Increasingly, we are harnessing training and hands-on practices that are vital in contemporary media practice. The world is now digital, with everyone a digital native and the media practitioner probably constituting the majority of landlords. That’s a fact! For instance, through a course Online Journalism in JMC/UB, students are drilled by top industry practitioners like Mr. Benyella Njeko with a wealth of experience in these issues. In the last three to four years, JMC/UB has metamorphosed into a hub of conferences, seminars and workshops with expertise from the industry and scholars from sister disciplines. Most recently, the Department had a workshop with UNESCO on illegal migration. It was a true blend of scholarship and practice. Students had the opportunity to engage thematic discussions that should continually boost specialization which is, as you understand, a must in professing professionalism. For our post graduate students, this has been an avenue for veritable contributions to multidimensional and interdisciplinary research from a journalistic -social science perspective.
What are some of the challenges hindering your vision for JMC /UB?
Challenges are real to success as they are to failure. Key amongst them is resistance to change. Before my appointment, JMC seemed to have been managed for almost 25 years like some private property. So the resistance [I have faced] changing some policies I met has slowed down a little bit our reforms. But our successes are just so overwhelming (including Ph.D defences, over 100 Masters Graduates) to the extent that some of [my detractors are now commending my efforts in the Department].
Let me add that these challenges have lingered pervasively on personal issues rather than on academic matters.
But we ought to vocalize on matters of academic disjoints, which should be our prime focus, if not the ‘only’ focus. Surprisingly, some detractors have been accusing my administration of imaginary things, which I don’t want to bore your readers with details.
Need exists to rebrand and remodel JMC/UB for the public good. It should also run as a school, not some personal property. This way, it can better drive the much needed quantity and quality in partnership with the industry. This is the plan I have.
Other challenges include: huge numbers of admitted students with a drastic drop in the entry points from nine at the GCE Advanced Level to two points. And this only happened when I became HOD. My opinion was not considered during admissions with regards to these huge numbers. So, we have a student population of over 1200 undergraduate students—unbelievable for a professional programme! Moreover, there is lack of required infrastructure and equipment to train the students and lack of a corresponding manpower.
We have some committed staff working tirelessly to achieve the objectives of the Department. My administration has also received very limited institutional support to help the Department achieve its objectives. We need more support!
How many graduates (BMP) has the JMC produced since its creation in 1993 and generally how would you describe employers’ feedback?
I didn’t obtain any records on this when I took over office, but in the past four years that I have served as HOD, we have graduated over 500 with first degrees(Bsc), over 100 Master’s graduates and a couple of Ph.Ds . In all, products f rom JMC since inception would be about 2000.
The employers’ feedback is wonderful. We are so proud of JMC products. They are topping in their workplaces both in character and professionalism all over the world. We want them to know that their performance is the fuel that keeps the engine running in the Department. Now in the Department, over 90% of the teaching staff are JMC products. Incredible progress!
And as someone noted, it is our success that attracts the jealousy and envy against the Department. Imagine two PhDs defended in the same day in the Department.
What is the current enrollment of JMC and is it a departmental policy to admit more female than male applicants?
For the 2020/2021 academic year, we had over 1000 students across the three levels (year 1, 2 and 3). Demographic evidence of the human population on earth indicates there are more females than males. That alone tells you, practically, that females tend to apply more for the programme than their male counterparts. The female-male ratio is something like 70:30. This is not a Departmental policy. Besides, it is not the Department that admits. It is the University Admissions Board chaired by the Vice-Chancellor and for my past four years as HOD, my opinion does not matter on this subject.
What is it that you want the world to know about JMC that many people are yet to know?
JMC/UB remains the flag-ship Department of the University of Buea. It is not owned by an individual(s). It is owned by the State. The success of the Department is thanks to several committed but unsung heroes and not just an individual.
