African Journal of Agriculture, Technology and Environment 2012 Vol.

1(1): 1-8 December 2012

ISSN: 2315-8042
Full Length Research Paper

Willingness of secondary school students to study forestry in tertiary institutions: A case study of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
a*
a b

Udofia, S.I. aOwoh, P.W. bEwa, O.I. and cUluocha, O.B.

Department of Forestry and Wildlife, University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Department of Environmental Management, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria. c Department of Forestry and Wildlife Technology, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria.
*udofias@yahoo.com Received: 20 September 2012 Accepted:12 October, 2012

ABSTRACT The willingness of secondary school students to study Forestry in tertiary institutions was assessed using Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria as a case study. Akwa Ibom State was stratified according to the existing three Senatorial Districts of Uyo, Ikot Ekpene, and Eket. Four Secondary Schools were further randomly selected from each of the three Senatorial Districts, from where a set of 600 structured questionnaire were administered on randomly selected students in the senior classes (Senior Secondary School, SSS 1-3) for data collection. Oral interviews were used to verify information obtained from questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results showed that 94.30% of the students in all sampled schools were aware of Forestry, largely from classroom lectures. About 82.70% appreciated Forestry for various reasons such as source of timber, fuelwood, aesthetics, source of income and food. However, students were not willing to study Forestry in higher institutions. Government should facilitate effective counseling in secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria to enlighten students on why they should study Forestry as a profession in tertiary institutions. Key words: Secondary school students, Akwa Ibom State, Tertiary Institutions, Forestry, Willingness INTRODUCTION The forest makes valuable contributions to the development of the Nigerian economy and to the general standard of living of Nigerians. Forest production depends primarily on the kinds and qualities of inputs that are used, and mans productive force is the most important of all productive forces. An important part of increased forest output in modern societies is attributed to educational investment in human resources and scientific knowledge base. Since primeval time, the word forest has continued to ring bell in our ears, perhaps because God has ordered for its proper management. Forest is a community of plants dominated by utilizable trees (Udofia, 1991). It represents an assemblage of all categories of both dead and living plants supported by the underlying soil, the leaves and the flowers are aesthetic traits of forest, while the stem and branches constitute the major springboard for the physical structure of the forest. Many people have stressed the importance of forest in the life of man. According to Pongsack (1980), the forest is our first home. The one we live in and feel very possessive about is only our second home. That second home cannot be built without the first (forest). Pongsack

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(1980) further said that our parents give life but the forest sustains the life with food, shelter, clothing and medicine. Forest purifies and balances the air we breathe, cleanses the water we drink, enriches the soil we grow our crops and it nourishes the spirit in the same way it nourishes the body. The forest plays a vital role in human existence. Practically every other creature has lived in the forest. Even now majority of Gods creatures such as animals use forest as their habitats. The birds of the air support their nest on branches of trees. The larger animals such as elephants, lions, tigers, antelopes and others have no other habitat other than the forest. All the micro-organisms in the soil survive due to the protective covering offered to them by the forest (Kanti, 1994). According to Daniel et al. (1979), Forestry is the art and science of managing the forests for the continuous production of goods and services for the benefits of mankind. Forestry is the scientific development and management of the forest for the full benefit of man, animals and the environment in general (Udofia, 1991). Such goods include all forest produce ranging from major products like timber, fuelwood, poles, etc. to minor products such as fruits, leaves, ropes, gum, tannin materials, animals products, etc. Services on the other hand are the unquantifiable roles played by forests such as soil protection, protection of water catchments and the provision of recreational facilities. The management of forest, therefore, represents a major form of land-use directed towards the production of various goods and services needed by man i.e. production, protection and recreation. In rural areas where large scale Forestry projects were sited, access roads were constructed. These roads eventually improved communication in these areas. In some cases, the projects led to the development of forest camps to facilitate Forestry activities, and these camps later formed the nucleus of development in such areas with social amenities. Forestry helps in reducing the drift of unemployed rural

dwellers to urban centres. Forestry operations such as timber exploitation, afforestation and establishment of woodbased industries necessitate the opening of good roads. In Cross River State, for example, most of the roads constructed by timber contractors to enable them to saw and evacuate timber and logs have become the main access roads to most villages which hitherto had no access roads. Examples of such roads include AkamkpaNsan Road, Iyamoyong-Edondon Road and Isabang-Ochon Road. In the former Edo State, Sapele-Sapoba-Ugo, IgbakelBenin, Usonigbe-Ewese-Sapoba-Idu water side, Nikrowa-Udo-Benin, among others, are link roads which were developed from former forest extraction and evacuation routes. Similar roads among many others in the western part of the country include Ife-Okeigbo-Ondo, Owenne-Apomu, Ijebu-Ode-Owa, Ikija, Ore-Agbadu, Ibanda, Akanran Ijabe-Igbo-Apoja Roads. In Cross River State, the Calabar-Ikom Road was aligned along the lines of the former timber evacuation and extraction routes cum hunters tracks. Despite the critical positions of Forestry to national development and in the enhancement of rural economy, people appear to have continued to demonstrate negative attitudes towards Forestry. Although the general attitude of people may be well formed, youths are continually acquiring new attitudes or changing their attitudes towards specific issues, object and resources based on information available to them. According to Petty and Cacioppo (1981), there are two routes to attitudinal change. One is cognitive in nature; when issues are important to people, they scrutinize the information, relate the material to what they already know and then rationally evaluate their position. In the process of scrutinizing the information, one may come up with data that support the message or some convincing counter arguments. The second is feeling. There are three principal aspects of any situation in which an attitudinal change is based:

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The source of the message i.e. the person or group trying to bring about the change. The message itself, meaning the statement or appeal used to produce the change. The characteristics of the person who receives the message, i.e. the recipient. In changing peoples attitudes in favour of Forestry therefore, source of the Forestry information plays a significant role (Ekman, 1982). From the foregoing attitude could affect forestry knowledge perspective and individuals decision process, and peoples attitude could affect their way of thinking and the way they relate or treat issues relating to Forestry, either negatively or positively. According to Udo (1992), many people have a negative opinion about Forestry and some are skeptical about investing in private Forestry or giving out their land for Forestry projects. With this kind of negative perception towards forestry, the development of the profession in Akwa Ibom State and in Nigeria could be jeopardized. That is why it is essential to educate the young ones on Forestry profession in order to help change the attitudes of future generation towards forestry in a positive direction. The specific objectives of the study are to: ascertain Secondary school students awareness of Forestry as a career. ascertain respondents major sources of information about forestry as a career/profession. evaluate respondents reasons for appreciating Forestry. assess the willingness of secondary school students to study Forestry in Tertiary institution MATERIALS AND METHOD Study Area: Akwa Ibom State lies between latitudes 4301 and 5301 N and between longitude 7301 and 8201 E. The State is wedged in between Cross River, Rivers and Abia States while the southern boundary is washed by the Atlantic Ocean,

creeks and tributaries. It measures only 8,400 km2 and is almost triangular in shape with the Bight of Bonny at the base and Cross River and Imo River at the eastern and western sides respectively. Climate: The climate is characterized by two seasons wet and rainy seasons. The rainy season last for about eight months, from March to October, followed by a short dry season spanning from November to February and characterized by the presence of dry dusty harmattan winds in December/January. Rainfall ranges from 3000mm per annum on the northern border, temperatures are generally high all year round, and range from 26C to 28C. Relative humidity is commonly high and uniform throughout the year. There is also abundant sunlight and long growth periods to sustain luxuriant vegetation all year round. Vegetation: The location of the State on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean and the presence of favourable climatic factors predispose it to luxuriant tropical rainforest vegetation. Despite these, there are marked differences in the vegetation within the State. Major vegetation belts include mangrove forest, freshwater swamp forest and lowland rainforest (Udofia, 2007). Sampling procedure: Akwa Ibom State was stratified according to the existing three senatorial districts of Eket, Uyo and Ikot Ekpene and four secondary schools were randomly selected from each of the senatorial districts. Fifty students (respondents) in the senior segment (Senior Secondary School, SSS 1-3) were further randomly selected from each of the sampled schools. Thus the sample comprises of 600 secondary school students. A set of structured questionnaire was administered to the sample for the purpose of data collection. This was supported with oral interviews and group discussions. Data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistical techniques such as tables and percentages.

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RESULTS Demographic information about the respondents Table 1 shows that 43.50% of the respondents were in the age bracket of 1015 years while 56.50% of the respondents

were in the bracket of 16-20 years. About 20.20% of the respondents were in SS1, 73.60% were in SS2 while 6.20% of the respondents were in SS3. About 42.80% of the respondents were male while 57.20% of the respondents were female.

Table 1: Demographic Information about Respondents in the study area Age Class Gender
10-15 16-20 SS1 SS2 SS3 Male Female

Frequency %

261 43.5

339 56.5

121 20.17

242 40.33

237 39.59

257 42.80

343 57.20

Awareness of Forestry profession About 94.30% of the respondents were knowledgeable about Forestry profession (Table 2). Table 3 shows that 10.00% of the respondents obtained information about Forestry from radio while 33.70% got information from television programmes,

whereas 51.50% obtained information from class lectures and 4.80% obtained their own knowledge about Forestry from literatures e.g. novels, magazines, newsprints, etc.

Table 2. Respondents awareness of Forestry Senatorial Districts Frequency of Response % Aware Not aware Uyo 190 95 10 Ikot Ekpene 184 92 16 Eket 192 96 8 Total 566 94.3 34

% 5 8 4 5.7

Table 3. Respondents sources of information about Forestry Source Uyo Ikot Ekpene Eket Total % Radio 13 35 12 60 10.00 TV 48 87 67 202 33.70 Class 106 105 98 309 51.50 lecture Literature 7 16 6 29 4.80 Total 174 243 183 600 100.00

Ranks 3 2 1 4

Appreciation of Forestry Result in Table 4 shows that 82.70% of the respondents appreciated the forest for various reasons while 17.30% of the respondents did not appreciate the forest. Results on reasons for considering forestry as a valuable profession by respondents are presented in Table 5. About 32.17% of the

respondents appreciated forestry for reason of fuelwood collection, 25.17% for the supply of timber, 20.17%, 15.00%, 12.33%, 7.83%, 9.50%, and 9.17% for food, aesthetics, shade, recreation, medicinal values and income respectively (Table 6).

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Table 4: Perceived assessment of Forestry by respondents in the study area Senatorial Districts Frequency of Response Valuable Not valuable Uyo 182 18 Ikot Ekpene 147 53 Eket 167 33 Total 496 104 % 82.67 17.33

Table 5: Reasons for appreciation of Forestry by respondents in the study area Senatorial Districts Reasons Total % Uyo Ikot Ekpene Eket Timber 40 53 58 151 25.17 Food 52 32 37 121 20.16 Aesthetics 34 21 35 90 15.00 Shade 25 14 35 74 12.33 Recreation 15 12 20 47 7.83 Fuelwood 54 84 55 193 32.17 Medicine 13 26 18 57 9,50 Income 20 23 12 55 9.17 institutions, 78.00% of them (Table 6) did not have the interest in studying it at the tertiary level.

Willingness to study Forestry in tertiary institution Despite the fact that nearly 73.50% of the respondents were aware that Forestry is a professional course studied in tertiary

Table 6: Willingness of respondents to study Forestry in tertiary institution Frequency of response Senatorial Districts Willing Not willing Uyo 33 167 Ikot Ekpene 61 139 Eket 38 162 Total 132 468 % 22.00 78.00

DISCUSSION Demographic characteristics of respondents The result showed a slight dominance of female respondents. This explains an impressive enrolment of females in Secondary Schools in the study area. Students at the SS2 level were more because at the time of data collection most of the SS3 students had finished their final examinations. The spread of respondents among various senior classes, secondary school age and gender shows validity of information concerning students perception of forestry in the study area.

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Awareness of Forestry in the study area Forestry profession is well known by most respondents because most secondary school students offered Agriculture and Biology subjects (Table 2). Thus, agriculture and biology subjects formed the major sources of the respondents knowledge about Forestry profession. Oral interviews and group discussions with the respondents confirmed that agriculture and biology were the main subjects that aided their knowledge about Forestry and environmental conservation. This agrees with the findings of Ajala et al. (2006) that teachers were at the forefront of creating awareness about forestry practices in Kaduna State. Similar result was obtained by Udofia and Ikojo (2003), who reported that agriculture lesson, was a major source of students knowledge of forestry in Akwa Ibom State, and those who claimed ignorance of forestry were those that were yet to take lessons in agriculture. Similar high level of awareness of Forestry as a profession among the students was high in Kaduna State (Ajala et al., 2006). However, 5.7% of the respondents were not knowledgeable about Forestry profession despite the yearly tree planting campaigns, radio jingles, publications in the prints, media, etc. These respondents may be the few students that did not offer Agriculture and Biology. Respondents sources of information about Forestry Students obtained information about Forestry from multiple sources even though they were more exposed to class room lectures (Table 3). Media, both electronic and print were found helpful in sensitizing the students through public enlightenment programmes (Table 3). This agrees with Stone (1989) who emphasized that media coverage can inspire people to explore the problems of the environment and can influence children directly. Appreciation of the forest The forest is the living laboratory for studying Forestry. The study of Forestry

helps in the management of forests for sustainable supply of resources. Most respondents perceived the forest as the source of valuable products. About 17.3% of the respondents who did not appreciate the forest did so for fear of wild animals (Table 5). It was observed that respondents appreciated the forest more as source of fuelwood and timber (Table 4). This can be attributed to the fact that wood is commonly utilized in the study area for fuel and timber. This corroborates the work of Udofia (1995) that Firewood is used by over 90% of households for domestic cooking and other heating in rural Nigeria. Most respondents generally exhibited apparent ignorance of other services that forest provides in forms of soil erosion control, windbreak and soil fertility enhancement. Respondents also did not know the role of trees in the purification of air through carbon capture for photosynthesis which, in the end, produces oxygen that is essential for human survival. Their knowledge was likely to be limited to what they were taught in classroom since most of their information about forestry was from classroom lectures. This result agrees with that of Udofia and Ikojo (2003) who found that most students in Akwa Ibom State were ignorant of the services provided by the forest in form of soil fertility, windbreak and purification of air through carbon capture for photosynthesis. Willingness to study Forestry Respondents were not willing to study Forestry because they did not like the profession. Most female respondents saw forestry as a career meant for the male folks alone, while others stated that foresters live and work in the forest. Some respondents said they considered foresters as the poorest people on earth. The respondents adduced their reasons for apathy towards forestry to lack of recognition given to foresters by the larger society. Some of the respondents could not give cogent reasons for disliking the

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profession in tertiary institution. This implies that if they were given proper counseling about Forestry professional course, they would appreciate selecting forestry as a career. This view is similar to Ajala et al. (2006), who found that students in Kaduna State view Forestry profession as a tedious job for weight lifters, while others thought foresters lived in and around forests. The study revealed that students in secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, lack proper awareness about the forestry profession, and have the erroneous belief that forestry profession could mean staying around forest environment only, whereas the profession has a wide spectrum that covers all aspects of environmental and social-cultural issues. If their wrong perceptions are allowed to continue, it could portend a bleak future for forestry profession in Nigeria, particularly in Akwa Ibom State, where deforestation has drastically reduced available forest estate. The present generation of students should be encouraged to promote studying Forestry profession in tertiary institutions. It is important to create more awareness and stimulate the interest of secondary school students who are the future leaders so that they could choose forestry as a profession towards meeting future local and global environmental challenges. Since agricultural science was largely the major source of forestry knowledge to students, the subject could be made compulsory in all secondary schools in the State for all students. Government should facilitate effective counseling in secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State to enlighten students on why they should study forestry as a profession in tertiary institution REFERENCES Ajala, O.O. Sambo, B.E. Ogunlade, F.T. and Sodimu, A.I., 2006. Attitude of secondary school to forestry as a profession: A case study of Kaduna State. In: Forestry in Crossroads.

Proceedings of the 31st Annual Conference of the Forestry Association of Nigeria held in Makurdi, Benue State. Nigeria. Popoola, L. ed. pp.272-277. Chuntai, B.M., 1991. Importance of Forestry in the field of medicine. In The Greenlight Magazine. EEC/FGN Katina Afforestation Project, Katina State. Udofia, S. I. ed. 3(2)35-3. Ekman, P., 1982. Emotion in the Human Face. Cambridge University, Cambridge. UK. Kanti, I., 1994. The forest is our first host In: The Greenlight Magazine. EEC/FGN Katsina Afforestation Project, Nigeria. Udofia, S. I. ed. 6(1): p.29. Petlty, R.E. and Cacioppo, J.J., 1981. Attitudes and Persuasion. IOWA: WC Brow Publishers. Pongsack, P.A., 1980. What is the value of forest. In: The Green Light Magazine. EEF/FGN Katsina Afforestation Project, Nigeria, Udofia, S.I. ed. 39 (1): pp.12-13. Stone, P., 1989. The media and the teacher: A partnership for the environment. In: Insight: Learning for an Independent World. Geneva, Switzerland. Christine, M. ed. Udo, E.S., 1992. Forest resources conservation in Nigeria, problems and strategies. In: Role of forestry stabilizing fragile ecosystem of the rainforest zone of Nigeria: Proceedings of the 21st Annual Conference of Forestry Association of Nigeria. Uyo. Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Akinsanmi F. A. ed. pp. 283288. Udofia, S.I., 2007. Status of Homegardens in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Ph.D Dissertation, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia Sate, Nigeria. pp.35-40. Udofia, S.I., 1995. Extension Impact of Schools Forestry Programme (Young Foresters Club). EEC/KTSG Katsina Arid Zone Programme (KAZP), Katsina State, Nigeria. MSc.

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Dissertation, University of Wales, Bangor, United Kingdom. pp.70-72. Udofia, S.I., 1991. Notes to young foresters club members. In: The Greenlight Magazine. EEF/FGN. Katsina Afforestation Udofia, S. I. ed. Project, 3(1): 3, 36.

Udofia, S.I. and Ikojo, H.A., 2003. Attitude of secondary school students to forestry in Akwa Ibom State. In: Community Forestry and Stakeholders Participation in Sustainable Development: Proceeding of the 29th Annual Conference of Forestry Association of Nigeria held in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria. Akindele, S.O. and Popoola, L. eds. Forestry Association of Nigeria.p.323.