AAPOLY: Raising The Standard Of Mass-communication Practice In Nigeria

By Caleb Ijioma

As Mass communication continues to attract the presence of students across the country, training them to effectively communicate with large groups of anonymous and heterogeneous people, Abraham Adesanya Polytechnic (AAPOLY), is raising the standard of mass communication practice in Nigeria.  

The Polytechnic through its mass communication department offers different courses for different levels, with one symbolic course, Public Relations Copy Writing offered by the Higher National Diploma (HND) 1 students, which is bridging the gap between the town and gown in public relations practice. 

In an event held on January 25, Students who were shared in groups were tasked with the responsibility of working on an assigned PR focus topic as aspiring professionals, pushing them beyond their limits and providing different strategies to achieve this, which in return builds them to be better public relations professionals. 

Public Relations Copy Writing In View

Public relations copywriting is a course that teaches people to communicate with a target public; it is used to amplify messages about a product service, or anything that has to do with an organization.  Through PR Copywriting, people are informed and educated about the different things that have to do with products. Also, one of the importance of copywriting is that it helps to communicate the mission, and vision of an organization.

                                                                                                                                 

One Course Bridging The Gap

Students, assigned various presentations, effectively utilized all public relations and copywriting techniques taught in the classroom. Ranging from planning an annual company event to organizing a networking breakfast, a fashion-themed pop event, and hosting an appreciation dinner, each presentation showcased exceptional approaches from different teams.

The lecturer in charge, Saidat Adeoye, who has been a Public Relations practitioner for more than 8 years, emphasized the need for practical presentations in this course. 

“I told the students that we need to explore the cooperative world, and how is it being done. If I did not give them the theme that they needed to unlock and some of the PR events, the majority of them wouldn't have gone far to research what exactly their assigned tasks are all about, you know, in the course of making research about it, they could get exposed to certain things” Adeoye said. 

She posited that the course is bridging the gap between the town and gown of public relations practice in Nigeria. Adeoye noted that participation in this course will help make students employable in the future. 

“When they understand it and they start working in various organizations or as a PR expert or PR officer, they will be able to balance the relationship between the town and the gown, because it is one thing to learn about PR, it is another thing to know how to implement some of these practices, it is one thing to learn about it and it is another thing to make the two sides balanced, so there is a way to go about it, to ensure that, the things that were learned in school are discharged accordingly, then there will be a balance between the town and the gown” She emphasized.

She expressed satisfaction with the level of effort made by students in this practical presentation, adding that “they were able to unlock everything given to them and they were able to carry out the exercises even beyond the expectation”.