SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS ’ PERCEPTION OF FORESTRY AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT IN RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA

The study was conducted to ascertain the perception of secondary school students in Rivers State about Forestry and Wildlife Management as a field of study in the university. A total of 3000 respondents selected from 100 secondary schools through a multistage sampling procedure were used for the study. Only 63 out of the 3000 students expressed willingness to study the course in the university. The males accounted for 60.3 % of the population willing to study the course. In each of the three Senior Secondary School Classes (SS1, SS2 & SS3) studied, less than 4 % of the students expressed willingness to study the course. Students ’ ignorance of the existence of the course in the university was not the major factor responsible for the low interest as about 62 % of the respondents were aware of its existence. Students ’ preference for some professions like medicine, law, engineering etc. which enjoy high esteem in the society; under-representation of Forestry and Wildlife Management in secondary school curricula; and inadequate knowledge of its career prospects, were the major reasons for the high disinterest in studying the course. The revision of the secondary school Curricula to adequately capture the importance of forests and the need for them to be managed sustainably, and massive public enlightenment on forestry education and its prospects were suggested as measures imperative for enhancing students ’ interest in the discipline