The management of the Federal College of Forestry (FCF), Ibadan, has reaffirmed its commitment to upgrading the institution to an enviable standard.
The Provost of the college, Dr Funmi Aderounmu, gave the assurance in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Thursday.
According to Aderounmu, as the school clocks 80 years this year, the management will build upon the achievements recorded by past administrations of the college.
She said that as part of its effort to raise the standard, a lot of construction and re-construction work had begun within the campus environment.
“Many of our training facilities have been given face lift; our livestock are doing well; our poultry farm is flourishing, while work is on-going on the rabbitry and snailry houses.
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“Our feed mill will soon have the full complement of required modern machines for effective milling activities.
“More offices have been partitioned to create better working environment for staff; our clinic has been given complete face lift.
“Also, our sporting facilities have been revamped where necessary, bushes cleared, and our roads receiving serious attention,” she said.
The provost remarked that it was worthy of note that the college had trained students from other African countries such as Cameroon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Uganda, and Kenya.
She said that the college offered several academic programmes on full and part-time bases.
Such academic programmes include Forestry Technology; Wood and Paper Technology; Agricultural Extension and Management; as well as Horticulture and Landscape Technology, among others.
Aderounmu further said that as part of its mandate to train young men and women in forestry, agriculture and other related disciplines, the college offered vocational skill acquisition programmes on part-time basis.
According to her, the idea is to promote self-employment opportunities and wealth creation.
“We provide relevant technologies required to establish, manage farms, forest plantations and reserves leading to the production of technical and sub-technical workers in forestry and allied disciplines,” she said.
She applauded the Nigeria Communications Commissions and the Federal Government for boosting the school’s teaching and research capacities through their support.
The provost also praised Prof. Adeshola Adepoju, the Director General, Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, Ibadan for offering support to institution.
She, however, called for more support from the institute, to enable the college to attain the desired enviable height. (NAN)
