Centre for Farm Management and Agricultural Extension
The Centre will be expected to serve as a base for teaching, research and extension works for agriculture related courses in the University. These are aimed towards the provision of the necessary platform to impact needed practical skills for the realization of the objectives of running agricultural education and services for agricultural development by the University. It involves establishing a farm that will provide field for practical training for the students of Agricultural Science Education and other related disciplines as well as work-aid opportunities for students.
The Centre is going to be fully complemented by its commercial operations of both Livestock and Crop Production activities, which will also serve to boost internally Generated Revenue (IGR) base of the University. It will comprise the following Units: Crops, Livestock, Fisheries and Aquaculture as well as Extension Services.
The Centre shall be involved in the management of agricultural resources of the university and the dissemination of agricultural information and technologies to farmers. It will also have a University farm which will serve as a training facility for staff and students in the department of Agricultural Education and related units, an experimental ground for new technologies and inventions in the area of agriculture and a commercial venture for the University.
The farm shall have areas covering all aspects of agriculture including crop production (arable and permanent), livestock production (ruminants, poultry and rabbitry), forestry, fishery, and Agricultural Technology (including farm machinery and agricultural processing and storage facilities).
The activities of the Centre shall be headed by a Director appointed by the Vice Chancellor who shall be a Professor from the Department of Agricultural Science Education while the day to day administration of the farm shall be by a professional Farm Manager.
Objectives
The establishment of the Centre is premised on the University’s conviction that it should play key role in the emancipation of the youth from the current learning outcome doldrums, particularly with the obvious challenges being faced by them while searching for admission into tertiary institutions in Nigeria.The Centre will co-ordinate all Pre-Degree and Part-Time Programmes of the University.
The Centre will run academic programmes that will help bring education closer to the relatively matured individuals who may wish to acquire Bachelor’s degree while on their job. In doing this, facilities and infrastructure in sufficient quantity and quality will be provided. This is in terms of ensuring that the quality of the resource persons and facilities that will be available for the teaching of the courses to be run by the Centre are the same with that of the full-time programmes in the University. In order to source and encourage prospective students to seek admission into some courses with low students’ patronage (e.g. natural sciences etc), this Directorate will identify such courses and propose Pre-Degree programmes for an intensive one-year programme leading to admission into Full-Time degree in the University. The directorate shall also coordinate Part-Time/ Sandwich Degree Programmes activities of the University such as for working class individuals, NCE holders wishing to upgrade to degree etc. This should also provide some IGR for the University.
The Directorate will be headed by a Director appointed by the Vice Chancellor.
Scope and Responsibilities
The University is convinced that the Pre-Degree Programme will promote individual self-development and remedy the deficiencies carried over from the post basic education level in the ability to speak, read and write and to receive instruction in order to successfully undertake a university programme. Likewise, the part time programmes will create more access for individuals who are interested in acquiring university education but are constrained either by time or limited admission opportunities.
Based on the foregoing, the Centre will therefore be involved in the running of academic programmes that operate with an intensive coaching curriculum which is aimed at ensuring adequate exposure of students to fundamentals of concepts and preparation of eligible students for University admission and a good head-start for University work. Students will be admitted into the Pre-Degree Programme under broad options of Arts, Social Sciences, Physical Sciences and Biological Sciences with opportunities provided for career path channeling into different areas of specialization.
The Centre will also run part time programmes at certificate, diploma, undergraduate and post graduate levels in different academic disciplines. It will train teachers on part-time basis in line with the National Policy on Education which among other things prescribes continuing education.