Council Of State Member Calls For Re-Instatement Of Forestry School In Sunyani

A Council of State Member Nana Owusu Nsiah has called for the re-establishment of a Forestry School in the Bono or Ahafo Regions, specifically in Sunyani.

He says the school will help train people on forest and forestry activities just as Agriculture Colleges which train people to become Agric Extension Officers in the country.

The former IGP and Diplomat noted that until the establishment of the University of Energy & Natural Resources, there was a Forestry School which was then converted into the current University for inexplicable reasons.

He stressed that the existence of a Forestry School would have been feeding the University with semi-trained personnel for further academic and practical training and also serves as professionally trained institution for Forest Officers in the protection and management of forests and natural resources to augment the efforts of Forestry Commission.

The former Ambassador to Israel questioned the rationale behind the collapse of the earlier Forestry School in Sunyani urging the Bono Regional Minister Evelyn Ama Kumi Richardson to work it out to reinstate the school.

Nana asserted that the existence of such school in the region would be much appropriate since the region has one of the largest rich forest zones in the country.

Angered by the trend, the Council of State Member referred to the current Sunyani Technical University as another educational institution that had suffered the same fate and lost its technical base without replacement. It began as a Secondary Technical School and converted into Polytechnic and now Technical University, noting that all the technical schools have gradually lost their basics and glory and warned against the repercussions that would take decades to correct.

The Council of State member and Mawerehene of Berekum Traditional Council who chaired the function was speaking at the launch of the 8^th Forestry Week and Greening Ghana Day 2019 in commemoration of International Day of Forests on the theme “Forests and Education: Our Responsibility”, at Nsoatre in the Sunyani West District of the Bono Region.

Nsoatre and its environs have been wrought with wanton destruction of the forests due to bush fires and other illegal activities.

The grand durbar aimed at encouraging behavioural and attitudinal change in the people to realize the need to protect our forests.

The United Nations set aside March 21 to raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests and trees outside forests.

However, the Forest Commission in collaboration with the Ministry of Lands & Natural Resources chose the month of June to mark the day in Ghana because of favourable climatic conditions for tree planting and to also stress the importance of trees to human existence.

The occasion attracted Ministers and State officials, Forestry officials and experts across the country, traditional and religious leaders, Civil Society Organizations, amongst others.