Dr. Abubakari Sidick Ahmed
President of Campus Broadcasters Association of Ghana (C-BAG) has called on government and institutions of higher learning to support the development of campus radio in Ghana.
President of the Campus Broadcasting Association of Ghana (C-BAG) and Manager of Radio Univers, Dr. Abubakari Sidick Ahmed, has stressed the need for government and institutions of higher learning through the National Council for Tertiary Education to develop a comprehensive policy framework that will lead to the growth of campus radio stations.
He says effective collaboration between these two bodies will stimulate the transformation needed for the career development of top-class well trained, informed, articulate, and analytical broadcast journalists for the country and beyond.
On Friday, Dr. Sidick made this call during the 25th anniversary celebrations of Volta Premier FM (VPFM) of the Ho Technical University in the Volta Region as the guest speaker.
He believes that the digitalisation drive championed by the Vice President, Dr. Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia, is in sync with the desire of campus radio in Ghana to include digitised content to their broadcasting menu. The key area under consideration is online teaching and learning.
He adds that the Ho Technical University could take the lead in putting together a teaching module that could enable them to provide varied technical skills development certification training for artisans in the Ho Municipality and beyond. Such a trailblazing role could gradually be emulated by all technical universities.
Dr. Sidick touted the achievements of campus-based radio shaping the broadcasting landscape in Ghana due to the role being played by its students across several commercial stations in the country.
On programming, Dr. Sidick narrates how campus radio became a trailblazer in creative programming concepts and content.
“Campus radio was the first to introduce in-depth national discourse with instantaneous feedback from students, lecturers, experts, politicians, and the public on socio-political and economic stories and issues highlighted in the daily press.
“Campus radio (Radio Univers) pioneered the introduction of Newspaper Review in Ghana in 1993 just one year after the 1992 Constitution came into force. Campus radio was also the first to introduce local language programming on private independent broadcasting media. The replication of the Newspaper Review in local languages democratised expression and gave voice and power to the voiceless. This transformed entirely the broadcasting landscape, politics, and most importantly, service delivery, and policy formulation,” he said.
Challenges of Campus Radio
Dr. Ahmed, who is the Manager of Radio Univers 105.7 FM at the University of Ghana, says funding and financing of campus radio continue to be a challenge due to its not-for-profit character. So, the dilemma now is whether or not to go commercial. The dangers of commercialisation however loom large; for it will deprive many a student who gets the opportunity to start building their careers in broadcasting and other media-related areas and communications.
Although he acknowledged that some universities were making monetary allocations to these stations, Dr. Ahmed says that it is not enough to deal with the challenge.
“Some universities have found an administrative solution to channel some funds for the upkeep of the stations but it has not been easy at all,” he noted.
In attendance were the Vice-Chancellor of Ho Technical University, the MCE who represented the Minister, the Chief of Ho, and the Vice-Chancellor of the Ghana Institute of Journalism, the Registrar, Members of Faculty, Alumni, and other dignitaries
About C-BAG
The Campus Broadcasting Association of Ghana (C-BAG) is the umbrella body under which all the 21 campus radio stations in Ghana belong to.