ROLE OF TEACHERS IN INSTILLING FOREST AND NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AMONG STUDENTS

Abstract

Malawi just as many other Africa countries is faced with the challenge of deforestation. Notwithstanding the endowments forests provide to people namely; income, wood for cooking and molding bricks, timber for construction and oxygen that every living organism depend on, trees continue to be cut without replacement. In Malawi, various conservation strategies have been put in place to avert the trend of deforestation namely: lobbying utility companies and communities to venture into reforestation. However, such efforts have hit a snag with challenges like need for funding to support communities who engage in such tree planting and subsequent theft from the communities. Nonetheless, no concrete documentation on the role of teachers in nurturing students in forest conservation and regeneration has been made in Malawian context. Subsequently, the study wanted to understand the role of teachers in instiling the attitude of forest management among students in schools. The study followed Exploratory Approach in studying the role of teachers in instilling forest and natural resources management among students in schools. Using Convenience Sampling technique, the study sampled 50 teachers. Questionnaire was used as data collection tool from teachers of the three schools: Assalam Boys Secondary school, Assalam Primary School and Changamire Primary, all located in Lakeshore district of Mangochi, Malawi. The study observed the need to have active student engagement if communities are to create a sustainable way of forest management hence averting deforestation.