CAREER ASPIRATIONS OF MASS COMMUNICATION UNDERGRADUATES IN BABCOCK AND UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

According to Agbo, (2015) career aspiration is a path one wishes profession to follow and further maintained that career aspiration is a vital process in an individual’s life in that most students enter the teenage group and underpin most of the development task in this transition period strives to achieve long-term goals (Agbo, 2015). Following Agbo, Ojobor, (2015) linked career aspiration to mass communication then argued that there is no doubt that mass communication is one of the professions sought by many in the world today. Moreover, Okoro & Chinweobo-Onuoha (2013), define mass communication as a true tool for dissemination of information, social mobilization and control. It is a means of educating and raising public awareness about important issues that affect people’s lives (Okoro & Chinweobo-Onuoha, 2013). Back to the inception, according to Emenyeonu, (2014) the advent of mass communication in Nigeria in the mid-nineteenth century was marked by the domination of non-professionals who used their publications either to propagate a cause or to exchange punches with the colonial authorities.

The study of press in Nigeria bring into being in the early nineteen sixties. At the time there were only two higher education institutions oering mass communication courses – the University of Nigeria (Nsukka) which began in 1961 and The University of Lagos in 1967. Then mass communication began in 1999 at Babcock University as a Social Science program under Babcock School of Commerce. This program allows each student to be suiciently exposed to the techniques of writing and print mass communication. In addition, they have the possibility of an in-depth orientation in elective options in broadcasting, book publishing, advertising and public relations. These institutions have introduced a degree in mass communication whereby students have taken courses in mass communication. Initially, candidates hesitated to enroll in mass communication, as the preferred career choice was medicine, engineering, law and architecture (Emenyeonu, 2014).

Currently, Omolayo, (2015) opined that the opposite occurs because there seems to be a fascination in the study of mass communication which witnesses an explosive surge in the population of candidates (mainly by the female sex), such that discipline has become a Selling argument for Most Universities in Nigeria. Involved in this aspiration is a decision not only of the type or class of people that one wishes to become. Preparation for adult life means preparation not only for earning a living, but for spending time. Being a student is a process of initiation into all aspects of life. A good professional training is actually a good education. We live in an era of knowledge explosion (Omolayo, 2015). However, Okoro and Chinweobo-Onuoha (2013) define mass communication as a genuine tool for dissemination of information, social mobilization and control. It is a means of educating and raising public awareness about important issues that affect people’s lives. This means that mass communication is the collection, preparation and distribution of news and related comments and materials through media such as a pamphlet, newsletter, magazines, radio, movies , Television, Bill Boards Internet and Books (Ali, 2010).

According to Ali (2010), various polls conducted with various institutions that offer mass communication in Nigeria reveal that the student population far exceeds their male colleagues, but only a few of these females pursue a career in mass communication as they do, Were preferred to take careers in other specialties of broadcasting, advertising, public relations and production. Lenshie, (2014) cried that over the years, the female sex would be underrepresented in various areas of human activity. Although Gambo, (2014) stated that research has shown that women have the same abilities and skills as their male counterparts, the gap between men and women continues to flourish, even in the face of the global struggle to achieve gender equality. Oluwafisayo, (2015) posit that industrial society has become increasingly complex and Ifeoluwa, (2015) reported that we are still faced with the problem of the aspiration of vocation among the many existing ones. This aspiration requires that the alternative be made clear and that important factors be given due consideration so that the decision-making process is easier. In the light of current events in Nigeria, it is necessary to express deep concern and adopt an appropriate approach to the issue (Ifeoluwa, 2015)