Bayero University, Kano will on August 30 and 31, 2017, convene a two-day National Conference at the University premises in a bid to improve Mass Communication training curricula in Nigerian Universities. Expected to participate and make inputs at the Conference are the academia, regulatory agencies, international agencies, media related civil society organizations, prominent professionals and more
As a major stakeholder in the communication sector in Nigeria and beyond, the University has requested Media Rights Agenda (MRA) to support the proposed conference and specifically make a submission on its expectations on what should be included in the new communication training curricula for undergraduate and postgraduate studies in Nigeria.
The Conference convener Prof. Umaru A. Pate noted that it would be an excellent opportunity for MRA to influence the training of future professionals that can appropriately suit the emerging realities by keying into the current initiative.
Co-hosting the National Conference with Bayero University is the National Universities Commission (NUC) whose representative is expected to deliver a lead paper on the Basic Minimum Standards in training communication professionals in Nigeria.
The University is organizing the Conference with support of the John D and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation which has made a funding grant available to it to strengthen the teaching of investigative and data-driven journalism as tools for reducing corruption and enhancing accountability.
Among the activities covered by the grant is the limited support for holding of a conference of communication teachers with involvement of UNESCO, regulatory agencies, employers and stakeholders in the sector to take a critical look at the existing mass communication curricula (undergraduate and postgraduate) in Nigerian Universities.
Professor Fackson Banda, the Head of Communication Training and Curriculum Development at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, has agreed to deliver the Keynote Address at the conference.
