PAPER TITLE :CHOICE OF AGRICULTURE AS A COURSE OF STUDY IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN EDO STATE, NIGERIA

APPLIED TROPICAL AGRICULTURE | VOLUME 25 NUMBER 2 2020

Paper Details

  • Author(s) : 1 2 3 Omoregie Osagie, Onemolease E. A. and Osabuohien J. I.
  • Abstract:

Inspite of the job opportunities available to agricultural graduates, students preference for agricultural courses has been declining, hence the study assessed the socio-psychological attributes as correlates of students' preference for agriculture at the tertiary education level in Edo state, Nigeria. Employing multi-stage random sampling technique, 760 students from twenty secondary schools across the state were administered validated questionnaire. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics, Probitregression and Binomial test. Results revealed the average age o f t h e st u d e n ts wa s 1 5 y e a rs a n d m a j o rit y ( 6 7 . 11 % ) a tt e n d u r b a n - b a s e d s c h o o l; m o st students(98%)hadsomeleveloffarmingexperience; have parents (over 80%) who had formal education and have been involved in farm enterprise. Most (97.11%) respondents had poor perception of agriculture. Not surprisingly therefore, very few (2.97%) students indicated willingness to study agriculture at the higher education level, and Binomial test (p<0.01) showed this was significantly low. Major factors affecting the student's choice to study agriculture were employ ability after graduation (mean=3.09), psychologicals at is faction (2.97) and ,peer group influence(2.93). Probit regression result revealed students' perception of agriculture was the only factor that affected significantly their educational choice to study agriculture at the tertiary level. The study recommends enlightenment campaign targeted at secondary school students to improve their perception of agriculture as course of study. Key words: Socio-psychological, Students, Youths, Agriculture, Education, University, Edo, Nigeria.