‘NTA College degrees for all Nigerians, not just TV personalities’
In a language an ordinary person would understand, what does the NTA Television College do? The NTA Television College in Jos was set up to train television broadcasters in Nigeria. The college started with short courses on television: engineering, television production and television journalism. Later, we took a step forward by going to diploma programmes […]
In a language an ordinary person would understand, what does the NTA Television College do?
The NTA Television College in Jos was set up to train television broadcasters in Nigeria. The college started with short courses on television: engineering, television production and television journalism. Later, we took a step forward by going to diploma programmes too; that is two years of diploma programmes so that broadcasting staff can now have diploma in the professional areas. So, at present we offer diploma programmes in Television Production, Television Broadcasting and Television Engineering. And when there was this case for additional qualification, because we discovered that in NTA that time, before you could move to a higher level, you would be expected to have a degree, in the relevant area. So, we sought permission from NUC, i.e. the National Universities Commission. Then we got affiliation with Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria to run four-year degree programmes in Mass Communication. So, right now from our key areas: short courses for broadcasting staff, we have gone a step further by allowing people who are not necessarily in television profession to come into the programmes. That is it, now the degree is for all Nigerians, not only for people already in NTA television stations or private television organizations. So, we are now in these three different areas: short courses, diploma programmes and degree programmes.
What advantages does the college have over other tertiary institutions?
If you come here for a diploma programme, you can easily cross over to a degree programme. If you are in your second year of a diploma programme you want to cross over, you take the JAMB form. Because of our affiliation with ABU, when they are considering admission for degree programmes for any session, they admit our students. That way, from diploma you just cross over to degree and so within five years you are a degree holder, because after the second year of our diploma course your direct entry into ABU places you in 200 level. Many Nigerians nowadays do JAMB for three, four years without success. But here they can do a two-year programme and by the third year they are in 200 level degree programme. This is partly why the college is the toast of many people now. In this current session we admitted 300 direct entry students and three-quarters of them are from the college diploma programmes.
What does your affiliation to ABU imply? What name do the degrees bear?
It’s ABU: Degree in Mass Communication (TV Production, TV Journalism). This is a professional college, it’s not where you read BA History or Geography. So, the degree reads BSc Mass Communication (TV Production, TV Journalism). The degrees bear the name of ABU because we are affiliated to it as we are not yet autonomous. But naturally, you take the courses here in the NTA Television College where we have the facilities. You can’t do it strictly in ABU. Yet we offer our degree courses under the university with imputes from the university and under its name because we are not yet Television University. The difference is autonomy. Autonomy is what is missing where we are concerned. We are not yet a university; we are pursuing that with NUC but they are giving us conditions: we must have this, we must have that. We are pursuing it. It’s finance that is delaying us.
You actually want to become a specialized university?
Yes. Our goal is to become the first University of Television in Africa. Right now, NTA College is the only television college in Africa. We have film institutes; one in Ghana and one in Cameroon, but the only college that specializes in television education is this one. And this is the 32nd year of this college (It was established in 1980). It’s unfortunate that the college was not having adequate publicity. Since I came here about three years ago, people now know that there is a professional institution called NTA Television College. That’s why we have been having increasingly large numbers of students. So, our aspiration is to become the first television university, but now that we are still in affiliation with ABU, our degrees bear ABU. The difference will remain in the speciality in TV Production or TV Journalism, which they do not have in the degrees A.B.U. offers directly.
What are the contents of your degrees?
We do the core courses offered by ABU in the first two years. General courses: English, basic and general Mass Communication courses; but you specialize by the third year. The 300 and 400 levels are specially for television. We do practicals. If you are specializing in TV Production, you do courses in production. If you are going to specialize in TV Journalism, you do related courses, like reporting, special correspondent courses, and such like. These are the areas. You start with the basic courses in Mass Communication offered by ABU and adopted by us, at 300 and 400 levels you specialize in either TV Production or Journalism offered specifically by us here.
You said you offer scores of diploma courses and now these specialized degree courses. You must need a large number of lecturers. Do you have the lecturers for all the courses?
Yes. We have NTA staff among our lecturers. We have guest lecturers from ABU, from University of Jos, and from Nigeria Film Institute. This is a specialized institution, so we look for professionals. I will tell you another vital difference that NTA Television College makes. If ASUU or NASU decides to go on strike and universities close, this college continues to run, because it belongs to NTA. Even when ABU is on strike, lecturers come from there to lecture here as our timetable may demand. So, once you start any of our programmes, you complete it on schedule; no strike will interrupt your programme. The only strike that would involve us would be one that is general, usually by Nigeria Labour Congress. All the ASUU, NASU strikes don’t concern us.
You said your courses are open to all qualified candidates: What opportunities does the college really have for people outside television, people who just want higher education?
That’s why we have diploma courses and degree programmes. The short proficient courses are for people already in television broadcasting and related endeavours. We have people in video business now who, when we advertise basic camera operation, apply for admission, because they are already in the industry and want to expand their knowledge. For people who probably have never done anything related to broadcasting but want to go into it with comprehensive knowledge, you come in for our diploma courses with an eye on breaking into a degree course along the way. I have explained how you can achieve this.
Is there no way for a candidate to come into your degree programme without first enrolling for your diploma programme?
In that case, you take the JAMB form, fill in the ABU Mass Communication option indicating TV College. We collect the forms so filled, do our short-listing, and return them to ABU. Then, of course, if you are seen to have merited an admission, you get it that way.
What is the students population of the college?
About 1000. We deliberately keep the number low because of our practical contents. For anybody to finish from here, he must be familiar with camera operations, studio operations, programme presentations, and so on. Students are difficult to manage in such environments if they are many. Every year we have just about 1000, for diploma and for degree programmes.
You speak enthusiastically about becoming Africa’s television university. When do you expect to actualize this?
It will all depend on funding. The college belongs to NTA and the NTA is doing its best to ensure that all the facilities that we are required by NUC to put in place are in place before we ask them to come for accreditation. They came on visitation and our headquarters is working to see that these things are in place. They say, for instance that we must have an e-library, that we must have a male hostel, because right now our male students are outside. We must have these things to qualify for our autonomy.
There is talk that you have upgraded certain facilities. What have they been?
I found when I came that some of what we had were not up to acceptable standards. We had to buy latest digital equipment for the use of our students. You know, television has gone digital. As the minister of information has said, our transmission must go digital by the year 2015. We have to prepare our students for it. We want people to know when our students come out that they have attended television college. At the beginning of this semester, for instance, we spent over N4 million on equipment.
Could we get to know you now beyond being rector of NTA Television College?
I was born 59 years ago. I started my career in 1978 in the then NTV Ibadan which later became NTA Ibadan. I have been around the country and I have been the General Manager of NTA Enugu. In fact, I was the pioneer GM of NTA Enugu. I have been at the headquarters in Lagos where I was the manager in charge of training. Later, I was transferred to Abuja headquarters as assistant director, training before I became a deputy director and subsequently as rector of NTA Television College, Jos, in March 2009.