The 1992 set of Mass Communication Department, Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY), Abeokuta, on Friday donated a refurbished television studio to the department.
Speaking at the event to commemorate the 30th anniversary of its graduation, Mr Kunle Adeshina, the Chairman, Association of Mass Communication Graduates (AMACOG) 1992 set, emphasised the need for old students to play active roles in developing their alma mater.
Adeshina noted that the 1992 set successfully pooled resources to refurbish the training television studio as its token to expanding the frontiers of knowledge by the students.
He added that it would ensure that students who choose to study Mass Communication would henceforth enjoy the benefit of being trained with some of the best and latest high tech equipment that were obtainable in distant locations.
He stated that the state government alone should not be saddled with the task of providing the infrastructure needed to ensure that tertiary institutions not only have the requisite manpower needed to train employable graduates, but that the right facilities were also provided.
He said that the alumni association would also provide after installation training on how to operate and manage the equipment in the new studio.
“We have accomplished set of gentlemen and ladies who have made their marks in various fields of endeavours after graduating from this department.
“We have them in the media world as CEOs, publishers, editors and line editors of national dailies,” he said.
He said that the set looked at area of deficiency where it could assist with its little might.
“We realised that the highest concentration of students who applied to the department are for broadcast.
“We now felt if we want to be impactful in terms of touching the department, the school and the public at large, we should do something about the television studio.
“Among us we have people who own television, radio stations, we leverage their expertise and today we are putting in place a new look television studio with up to date equipment for the department.
“We have a new mixer, teleprompter, the studio used to have two cameras, which one is in bad shape, so we bought two new cameras.
“We worked on the ambiance of the studio itself, the stage, the set, some of the best you can get in any wave making television station is right here at MAPOLY,” he said.
According to him, the association spent about N5 million in refurbishing the studio.
In his remarks, the Acting Rector of the polytechnic, Dr Adeoye Odedeji, commended the association for the kind gesture and for remembering to give back to their alma mater.
Odedeji noted that the handing over of the refurbished television studio was timely, saying that the institution would be expecting officials from National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) for accreditation in few weeks.
It was reported that members of the alumni association included Mr Abdulrahman Balogun, a Newsmen Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Mr Ademola Oni of the PUNCH and Dr Femi Adefila, the founder, RAVE FM, Osogbo, among others.