Practical or Absent?

The aim of any institution of higher learning is to train individuals, impart them with the required practical skills that would enable them work in their respective fields of specialization thereafter with utmost competence. This objective cuts across universities, colleges, polytechnics, among others, in a bid to maintain a continuous transition among professional working classes from generation to generation and even improve the same. Moi University, being one of the high ranking public universities in the country, is not an exception, or at least should not be an exception.

I study Bachelor of Science in Media Science, a degree programme which, according to the faculty, is designed to produce competent media professionals to work in the print and the electronic media industry. A course that is tailored to produce graduates who can work in the field and also be effective managers of media institutions; a course that has been developed and designed to meet increased demand for personnel with specialized skills and knowledge in the various aspects of the media industry. Teaching methods, still according to the faculty, consist of lectures, seminars, practicals using equipment commonly used in the media industry, written assignments, project work, field visits, individual reading, research, problem solving and practical attachment. Is this description not enough to make a potential ECD teacher push for a course change in favour of this one? Trust me, it happened!

When I first heard that my third year’s second semester would include at least one practical course, I almost pronounced the end of theoretical training. I knew I would now not only sit down and listen to lengthy narratives but also do something with a hand involvement for MES 322 - Video and Radio Production. How I had been longing for such a moment when I would proudly participate in such activities! Despite all the sweet-sounding descriptions attached to my programme, the only things whose existence I can never doubt are lectures and written assignments. For the past three years of study, I surely have gone through plenty of them – I am grateful for that.

Talking about practical teaching using equipment commonly used in the media, I would say that maybe the course is still undergoing revision and reshaping to include this aspect in the future. Sincerely, I have never gone through such a vital experience. One day, Ronald McAgak and I decided to give it a test. Agak happens to be one of my classmates from lake-side. Ooh I had not said it; he quitted ECD and joined media in 2011! So we walked into our department office and asked for a camera. There was nothing to surprise any of us because what we heard was something we expected. They didn’t have films and it would take time for them to be located and dust-wiped because it was long since they were last used. This further justified my suspicion that my programme description is merely meant for publicity, to attract more potential students.

I had mentioned something about MES 322, that ‘practical’ course! Well, Miss Ruth Simam is the lecturer who was assigned the task of taking us through video and radio production. Of course it would look more awkward if it was also going to be theoretically taught, with the presence of such courses as Media production, Radio &T.V production and Radio &T.V communication in the same semester, all which are taught through narratives!

Beside MES 322, Simam was also assigned two other courses to take us through, apart from the ‘countless’ others she lectures to the first, second and fourth years. The lady deserves to be credited. She did her best in making sure that we get to know that there is a course called MES 322. She also mentioned about Adobe Premere, which is a software collection of editing programs for video, audio, images e.t.c. I remember her trying to install this software in some of the publishing lab computers, although none of them accepted it. How then were we supposed to do the practicals if the computers are not even used to such programs? Nothing serious transpired thereafter, although I recall her giving group assignments for project work, that’s all!

The only course that was meant to be a practical one therefore translated into being an ‘absent’ one. But it is better than the Magazine Publishing one, whose lecturer could not even see the essence of it being assigned four hours in a week. For him, three hours per semester was all he needed and he was done! I don’t know whether this one can be better than the Research Methods, the course whose facilitator would spend an hour trying to make us understand the importance of the course itself! I also know about another one, Media Production. The lecturer began by confessing his reluctance to give out notes. At the end of the day, he had given out the highest number of hand-outs! Still there is something called Subject Indexing and Thesaurus whatever! I don’t even know what to say about that. I will talk about it next time.

Those examples are enough; I am now preparing to start a 7-month long holiday before resuming for my final year of study. I will always pray that in that fourth year, the number of practical courses will probably exceed the number of absent ones.

Naisubiri Siku Hiyo

Iwapo kuna siku ya hivi karibuni ninayoingojea kwa hamu na ghamu katika chuo hiki, si nyengine bali ni tarehe sita mwezi ujao wa Septemba.  Tukio ambalo ninalitarajia kwa matamanio makubwa, linaloufanya moyo wangu ukose subira, ni lile la uchaguzi.

Siku hiyo kulingana na ninavyoitabiria, itakuwa muhimu na iliyosheheni shughuli chungu nzima. Nikiwa miongoni mwa maelfu ya wanagenzi wa chuo hiki cha Moi bewa kuu, nitaahirisha shughuli zote ambazo ningepania kuzitekeleza siku hiyo hata kama ni kwa muda tu, ili kuitumia fursa hiyo kuwachagua viongozi wapya watakaoshikilia nafasi mbali mbali katika uongozi wa muungano wa wanafunzi.

Sababu kadhaa zinanishawishi na kuifanya shughuli hiyo ya uchaguzi kuwa yenye umuhimu mkubwa katika maisha yangu kama mwanafunzi wa chuo hiki. Kwanza ni haki ya kidemokrasia. Ikiwa kilio changu cha chini kwa chini kila uchao, cha kutaka haki nyenginezo za msingi kama vile maisha bora kitaendelea kugonga mgongo wa kobe, basi hii nina uhakika wa kuifurahia kwani ni haki isiyohitaji kilio kuipata. Hakuna ajuaye, pengine nitakayemchagua siku hiyo ndiye mkombozi aliyetabiriwa na Yohana mbatizaji na manabii wa kale kwamba atakuja kuniondolea masaibu ya muda.

Pili ni kwamba ninahitaji kutawalwa na kiongozi ninayemuenzi, niliyemkabidhi mamlaka mwenyewe kupitia kura yangu. Iwapo nitaamua kulipa kisogo zoezi la uchaguzi, uamuzi huo usio wa busara hautakuwa na manufaa yoyote kwangu, ila utafananishwa na kujitemea mate usoni mwangu mwenyewe. Nishiriki au nisishiriki, viongozi sharti watachaguliwa na kuanza kazi mara moja. Hapo ndipo nitakapojigundua kumbe mimi ni mtu ‘hivi hivi’, jambo ambalo siku zote nitaishi kujutia hasa viongozi hao watakapoanza kwenda fyongo na kutoyashughulikia maslahi yangu kikamilifu, kinyume na matarajio yangu. Hata ikiwa watafanya vizuri, pia sitakuwa na chochote cha kujivunia kwa ajili yao, nikizingatia kwamba sikuhusika kivyovyote katika kuwachagua.

Kwa mantiki hiyo basi siwezi kamwe kukosa kuivaa mzima mzima shughuli hiyo ijayo ya kukata na shoka. Ikiwa sababu zote hizo hazitoshi, naweka nadhiri ya kuziongeza wakati mwengine. Cha msingi ni kwamba naisubiri siku hiyo kama nilivyoisubiri ile ya tarehe nne mwezi Machi mwaka huu. Swala la iwapo zoezi zima litaendeshwa kwa njia ya kielektroniki au la; kwa foleni au kupitia mtandao; kwa muda mrefu au mfupi; hayo si majukumu yangu. Nina imani na maafisa wa tume huru ya uchaguzi wanaotazamiwa kutajwa hivi karibuni kwamba watalivalia njuga swala zima na kuandaa uchaguzi wa aina yake. Ninachoomba mimi ni uchaguzi uwe wa haki na uwazi jinsi ule wa uraisi ulivyodaiwa kuwa.

Kwa sasa nimeamua kutia masikio nta na kuzifanya zipite juu ya hewa, tetesi kwamba mikutano ya kikabila imeanza kushuhudiwa yenye malengo ya kusimamisha wagombea kwa misingi ya kikabila. Ninachofahamu fika ni kwamba kiongozi yeyote atakayechaguliwa lazima atatoka katika kabila fulani lolote lile. Hivyo basi, nimejifunza tangu utotoni kutojisumbua na wasiwasi wa aina yoyote wa kikabila, kijinsia au kimaeneo kwani binadamu wote ni sawa mbele za Mungu na yeyote anaweza kutunukiwa zawadi ya uongozi. Isitoshe, ninaotaka ni uongozi bora na utapatikana tu ikiwa viongozi watakuwa bora. Je, si wale wa kabila fulani ndio wanaojua ni mtu yupi wao aliye bora?

Hatimaye ninaelekeza dua kwa mwengezi Mungu azidi kunineemesha neema ndogo-ndogo na neema kubwa-kubwa, niweze kuendelea kupumua kwa pumzi yake mwenyewe hadi siku hiyo ya tarehe sita. Pia nawaombea baraka viongozi wote wanaoondoka mamlakani na kheri njema maishani mwao pindi watakapostaafu rasmi. Waendeleze talanta zao za uongozi walizoonyesha wakiwa madarakani kwa muda huo mrefu mno kulingana na katiba ya uongozi. Lakini zaidi ya yote mie nitazidi kushikilia tisti msimamo wangu wa kuisubiri siku hiyo!

Bitten With Me!

9th December, 2012. This was on Sunday, a couple of months into my long holiday. I was at the middle of my university education, having completed the second year of study for a degree in Bachelor of Science, Media Science. I had left Moi University’s main campus early October that year and was still counting up to four more months before travelling back to Eldoret for the 2013/14 academic year.

She tried calling me once before sending a text message. She knew I would hardly answer her call, even if she redialed 100 times. Not because we were in bad terms or that being a Sabbath day, I would probably be listening to a sermon at Calvary Baptist Church. Our services usually end before 3pm, but now it was around sunset and the environment I was in could not permit a telephone conversation. It was noisy!

My schedule was tight. But that could not prevent me from cheering up for my team. It was another tough derby between the two local rivals, Manchester United and Manchester City, at the latter’s Etihad Stadium. Inside a local video room at the outskirts of Kakanjuni sub-town, I cannot exclusively say whether I was sited or upstanding. You do not maintain a similar position while watching such a do-or-die clash! Especially at the dying extra minutes of the final half and no side is trailing the other. Wayne Rooney had already scored a brace for the visitors in the first half but Yaya Toure’s and Pablo Zabaleta’s strikes took the game to an entertaining 2-2 level with less than four minutes remaining. Now that is enough to guess the kind of noise and anxiety the long distance spectators were involved in at that moment.

I quickly opened the ‘1 message received’ which read, “Nimeshuka hapa stage.” I did not take that to be important, at least for a minute. I then pressed the reply button and speedily typed, “Bado dakika mbiri game igome.” I sent it and refocused my whole attention back to the big screen.

Soon, a free-kick was awarded to Manchester United and I knew that would probably be the last event before the referee brings the English Premier League match into a close. The Netherlands International placed the ball where the referee had suggested and moved a few strides backwards and slightly to the right. He was, as usual, going to take it with his left foot. The former Arsenal captain brilliantly lifted the ball straight passed the barrier of strong boys, who slightly deflected it, tackling their own helpless goalkeeper into the back of the net!

Ooh Gosh! Looks like I am giving a match report here! Anyway, that is how it ended, a 3-2 victory in favor of The Red Devils.

As I excitedly walked out of the video house some minutes after 6pm, I was a little nervous about a couple of issues in my mind. First was my ‘want-to-meet-me caller’. I knew I had kept her waiting, which was not due to my fault anyway. I was not the referee to be able to end the match earlier than that. After all, I had sneaked out of church, primarily because of the match, not to meet a ‘stranger’.

Strolling down the then crowded Kakanjuni road towards the stage, I did not find it necessary to ask my caller whether she was still there or not. Ideally, one who is desperate to meet you will not make any attempt of moving elsewhere before your arrival. I had that in mind.

It was now getting dark. The sun was almost resting into the West. From the East towards which I was walking, the moon was almost taking over the reign. However, I knew it would take a little while before its light could be completely relied on. This posed another challenge in my head. I hate meeting strangers whose faces are immersed in the dark, who I may not quickly recognize. Another basic concern was about whom else was probably accompanying her. “If they are two or three, it will be a different story altogether. They may request to be sent home in a motorbike! Do I have the courage to let them know about my doomed financial status? Or do I just joke around that they need a slight walking exercise after resting on a vehicle seat all the way from Malindi town?”

Before I even finished thinking, I suspected a short, slim, brown lady in a glittering dress approaching me. But because I was on a road that could lead anywhere, I was never going to be absolutely certain that she was the one. I quickly made up my mind, stood still and pretended to be doing something serious on my phone. “If she is the one, she will definitely stop here. If not, she will pass and go!” I told myself. She neither passed nor went. She stopped. Since I was now done with my phone, I looked at her and said, “Vidze?” This is how a teenage from my Giriama community would open up a greeting session with an age mate.

After realizing that all was well and that she just wanted to see me and know how I had been faring for the past three or four months apart, the mission was over. Of course there was absolutely nothing special about her intention. My close acquaintances understand me as a friend of the people, a representative of their other friends. Seeing me is therefore almost equal to meeting with all the rest. That was all. Now she wanted to go to her mother. She did not say that, I just guessed. The 7 O’clock Citizen news was ongoing; she would not walk home alone at that time. I know how she fears darkness or even just night hours. Unfortunately, there was no way I was going to suggest an alternative transport means, other than her legs. You don’t tell somebody to hire a motorbike or so, you just give them the fare!

Those days, my church was involved in a serious session of preparations ahead of a major event. 15^th December 2012 was not going to be just like any other Saturday in the calendar diary of Sister Claris Rehema, the pastor’s last-born daughter. In as much as the Sunday school children would still want her teaching services, it was no longer going to be so. The youth committee which she was currently chairing was also not at ease. She would proceed and shamelessly make a vow amid exchanging rings with a man in front of a congregation that would extend beyond the limits of the walls of the church building. The two would then immediately become husband and wife, upon declaration by the priest or bishop. As for me, I was going to be on the front line, leading the pet boys and maids through all their processions. Claris had chosen me to be the patron. With no reason to say no, I accepted to take up the responsibility of organizing for and on behalf of the boys and girls expected to be dressed like angels and dancing in unique patterns! In fact, I had just sneaked out of the church to avoid an after-service sitting that would have prevented me from watching one of the biggest matches of the English Premier League.

So there I was, with my caller. I had planned to pass by the bride’s home after the match, at least to get one or two updates about the issues discussed in the meeting where I was absent without apology. It was almost mandatory to see her before she slept because she had already dropped a hint on me that she would travel the following day, at day-break! But now my caller needed attention too. An escort was surely going to be inevitable. But she lives a few kilometers away, on the opposite direction from where the pastor’s home is located. This would make it difficult to take her home then walk back to the bride. Yes, it would be hard; but that is what I finally resolved to do.

Along the way, there was a warm session of chatting. I shared with her how the wedding preparations were greatly involving my time and effort. She, in turn, encouraged me to move on so as to make the ceremony a success. She also did not hesitate to talk about what she had been doing in the far North Coast since taking leave of her village for months.

Kirrrrr… kirrrrr… kirrrrr… She stopped, opened her handbag and took out the ringing phone. Our dialogue paused for a moment as she answered her call. We had already covered almost half of the distance. I don’t normally eavesdrop whenever someone is talking to another, especially over the phone, but the nature of her replies forced me to be a little keen. She was mentioning the exact place where we had reached and the fact that she was on foot. I later understood that it was her brothers calling from home, asking for where she was. According to their estimates, which were correct anyway, she was expected to have arrived home by then. That was not my problem. I did not even know that the family knew she was coming. I said ‘fine’ and revived our previous dialogue.

Just a few minutes before 8pm, we took the second-last corner, almost close to her destination. Our walking speed had been extremely sluggish, right from the beginning and had never been steady. Sometimes it decelerated to almost zero, especially as the journey was slowly coming to an end. We had reached the climax of storytelling and it seemed that we would soon be forced to suspend some issues until some other time. She could now smell her family members, who had all along been awaiting her arrival.

Suddenly, something strange befell us, almost uncalled for. “What the hell is biting me?” That was not supposed to be the next sentence expected from her mouth. In fact it was my turn to speak, not hers. She just chose to interrupt. What stunned me most is the fact that she shouted while jumping a few strides away, as if avoiding some pieces of burning charcoal.

The moon was now brightly shining, but you still needed an alternative source of light to be able to see the finer details of anything. I wanted to know what was biting my caller. The broad shade cast from the huge cashewnut tree adjacent to her local church made it almost impossible to see what could possibly bite someone from the ground. I quickly took out my phone, pressed any button and lowered it down towards where the biting-object probably was, where she had jumped away from.

That is the point when I wished the whole thing was a dream so that I can wake up and smile. Behold it was a snake! Yes, the biting-object was a snake. Upon seeing it, she made another important statement, “so that snake has bitten me!” I said, “Yes, it has bitten you,” as I confirmed from the small quantity of blood that had already formed a drop-like structure on her right foot. She had surely been bitten in my presence; bitten with me!

Recurrence of Tough Lecture Rules

If you, like me, ever thought of being finally free from ‘tough lecture-time rules and regulations’ from the likes of Madam Julio Korongo and Emily Ng’enoTuitoek, then you are surely wrong! This conclusion seemed unlikely to come by until yesterday afternoon in Lecture Theatre 1.

“So I am Dr. Odero and I will be teaching you this course; INS 319 – Subject Indexing and Thesaurus Construction.” Her soft voice could not promise to draw attention from the entire crowd almost immediately, as it is always the case when both the third-year Media and Information Science groups converge in a common forum. It was not different yesterday. You could still hear, although not necessarily comprehend, voices from different corners of the venue until the MU FM Director, Mr. Gilbert Lang’at was completely done with assembling the projector components.

“Now as usual, before we begin our lecture, let me give you some simple dos and don’ts regarding how we are going to relate to each other and what will be expected from each of us – which will not be any different from other lecturers’.” I quickly took out a pen and slid my exercise book towards myself, away from Tom who, as usual, was sitting beside me at the foremost two-user table – just before the lecturer, who was by now resting her right hand on the other side of our small wooden table. I was prepared to write anything that I would consider important. That is my habit.

“I will not expect any of your gadgets [as she lifts up her black flapped phone using her free hand] to ring during lectures. If you are expecting an emergency call, kindly put your phone in silent or vibration mode and sit strategically at a point where you can move out to answer it without interfering with the others. That will be allowed.” Well, to me, that sounded almost normal because if all students decide to leave their phones in loud ring modes and they start receiving calls or messages at, say, a five-minute interval, with all the funny ringtones I have heard before, it would sincerely not be a serious class. However, that was not the end of her first instruction. “But just to reinforce this rule, if one phone rings, I will assume that you are sending me a message of either you are too tired and therefore want me to leave or that I should skip what I intended to cover for that particular lesson. Trust me; I will walk out and expect you to read on your own. If one person’s phone rings, we all suffer!”

At that point, I could hardly distinguish Dr. Odero and Madam Tuitoek. Perhaps the only observable difference was the fact that the latter said the same while sited on a blue rotatable chair but the former was currently upstanding. That was the time when all the initial noise from the students went down and a deafening silence fell over the room. You could easily confuse the situation with some degree of cowardice.

“Secondly, we shall be using this reference manual for all our lectures.” She said this while showing out a fat document titled, ‘Guidelines for Indexes and Related Information Retrieval Devices’. So she continued, “You can choose to print a copy for yourself alone or do it in groups of up to three, but you will always have to sit together. It is only 53 pages long so you will not spend a lot of coins. If you want it in soft copy, I will send it to your class e-mail addresses, together with the course outline. If you go for the soft [copy], you will have to carry your laptop each time we have a class.” Still on the same, Odero promised to be occasionally giving out bits of notes, especially on areas she feels are slightly technical. Where she thinks that everything is straight forward, she will never do so. Comrades will therefore be expected to always be on toes and absorb such content during the discussions.

“You will also be required to be signing the attendance list.” On this note, the lecturer discouraged anyone from signing on behalf of a friend. “The first signature I receive today must be consistent. Do not sign for anyone else because that might force you to do so throughout the semester. You do not know at what time I will randomly cross-check.” Now, something good about class attendance is her consideration for the group’s having two four-hour lessons on Wednesdays. She promised to allow additional 30 minutes on top of the one-hour break from the first lesson which ends at noon in the same venue. “We shall be starting our classes officially at 1.30pm instead of 1.00pm unless otherwise communicated,” she confirmed. However, she chose to remain silent on what happens if a student arrives late for class.

“You will be working in groups for your assignments, projects and even the sit-in CAT.” She then proceeded to give a warning on how one may lose some or all assignment marks. “If your name appears in two different groups, then you automatically won’t get any mark.” According to the woman, any assignment handed in late will also face a thorough deduction of marks. “Whichever group hands in an assignment a day after the stated submission deadline, I will deduct five marks; two days, you lose ten and on the third day, it will be minus 15. Afterwards, you get a zero because an assignment carries 20 marks in total.”

Although she left it unclear whether or not she will be giving unpredictable sit-ins and assignments, one could easily smell such intentions from the conclusion of her instructional speech. “If you won’t attend a class, please inform your class representative earlier enough because a valid reason may give you considerations for a second chance in case of a missed CAT or presentation assignment.”

It was until she had coughed out all what she had to, when the first lecture kicked off. Though this may not be the right moment to evaluate her mode of facilitating, in my view, she may be assumed to deliver content well. She does not quickly move to point B unless she notices some few nodding from the audience, signaling a sense of understanding to the explanations of point A. At some points, she notably seemed to create fun which, minus the regulations, made her appear substantially friendly.

When asked about the long-awaited trip at the end of the lesson, the lady had this to say, “You people think that my department of Library and Records Management has the sole responsibility of organizing for the trip. No, this is an issue for the whole school.” However, she went ahead and made another fresh sweet-scenting promise of pushing for the coordination of all concerned departments in terms of budgeting because that is the major issue. Nonetheless, she had some reservations concerning how soon the trip can come. It cannot be as soon as this month. The whole process may take a while because preparations for the 29^th Graduation Ceremony to be held on 30^th August are also on, at least according to her. The first week of September is also ruled out because there will be a conference and so, most of the university buses will be committed to ferrying attendants to and fro. It follows that the second week of next month is a probable moment for the trip unless something else presents itself in due course.

Splending Start for Africa, World Champions and the Host

Oduamadi, celebrating his goal with team-mates

Nigeria, representing Africa in the 2013 FIFA Confederation Cup, produced a commendable start in the competition after claiming an easy 6-1 victory over Tahiti on the night of Monday 17^th June, 2013. The tournament, being hosted in South America’s Brazil, commenced on Saturday 15^th and will have its final played on 30^th this month.

Nnamadi Oduamadi completed a hat-trick while Uwa Echiejile scored a brace for the Super Eagles as they subjected the Pacific Islanders to humiliation in their first match at a senior FIFA world tournament. The only Tahiti consolation goal came from Jonathan Tehau, who converted Marama Vahirua’s corner with a wonderful header past Nigerian goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama on the 54^th minute. Tehau however erroneously scored a 68^th minute own goal to add to the African champions’ tally on their 19^th match without defeat, their longest ever unbeaten run.

The Super Eagles defeated Burkina Faso 1-0 in the February 2013 Africa Cup of Nations final in South Africa to earn the right to represent Africa at the FIFA Confederations Cup. They currently sit on 31^st world position and 4^th in Africa according to the latest FIFA rankings and top of group F in Africa’s 2014 World Cup Qualifiers.

Tahiti, the Oceania champion’s next match will be against the World and European champions, Spain on Thursday 20^th in a match which weighs the world’s 1^st position against 138^th in the FIFA Ranking. On the other hand, the Super Eagles will battle against South American champions, Uruguay, on Friday 21^st.

In the previous matches, Brazil (who qualified automatically as the host country) started with a 3-0 clean sheet against Asian champions, Japan in the competition’s opening match on Saturday. Neymar da Silva, FC Barcelona’s new signing, opened up the goal-scoring campaign with a 3^rd minute long range strike, followed by José Paulinho and João Alves’ goals on the 48^th and 93^rd minutes respectively. Brazil is the defending champion of the Confederation Cup, having won it in both 2005 and 2009.

Later on the same day, Spain who qualified for the Confederations Cup as the reigning FIFA World Cup champions also started with a 2-1 victory over Uruguay. They took an early 2-0 lead, courtesy of Pedro Rodriguez and Roberto Soldado’s 20^th and 32^nd minute goals. With just two minutes to the end of the match, Liverpool forward, Luis Suarez’s 88^th minute brilliant free kick outdid Iker Casillas to give the South American side their lone goal.

Did you know?

That the England Barclays Premier League fixture of the 2013/14 season will be announced tomorrow, Wednesday 19^th June 2013 at 11:00am local time?

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