Viewpoint

Entrepreneurship education and economic development in Nigeria: policy issues and options Patrick Nnadozie Udefuna, Chiedo Akalefu and Chinako Asogwa

Abstract: The standard of education in Nigeria has been declining, the level of unemployment continues to rise and the nation’s economic development is stagnant. Its educational institutions appear to engage more in unproductive paperwork and teaching than in entrepreneurship education that would help to equip young graduates to become self-employed and employers. In 2011 some 24% of Nigerians were jobless, with unemployment rates of over 17% in urban areas and nearly 26% in rural areas. A productive education system is a vital component of a developed economy, but in Nigeria the education sector has long suffered from neglect. Corruption, poor continuity in government and a dearth of qualified personnel in the teaching profession are some of the principal impediments. The authors recommend a review of the country’s educational policies so that these policies can be made responsive to social and economic needs. Keywords: entrepreneurship education; economic development; education review; unemployment; Nigeria The authors are with the Institute for Legislative Studies, National Assembly, Abuja, Nigeria. Corresponding author: Patrick Nnadozie Udefuna. E-mail: [email protected].

More than ever the wealth or poverty of a nation is dependent on the quality of its higher education system. Those with a range of skills and a high capacity for learning look forward to and expect a lifetime of accomplishment. Those without an appropriate education face the prospect of little better than a life of struggle and desperation (Gills, 1999). Given the rising levels of unemployment, self-reliance and small-scale

enterprise become increasingly important options. We would argue that after national security the primary goal of every government is the economic empowerment of its citizens. For many years entrepreneurial development through productive education has been a priority in many national systems. Much time and money has been channelled into the creation of entrepreneurial academic

INDUSTRY & HIGHER EDUCATION Vol 27, No 5, October 2013, pp 343–348, doi: 10.5367/ihe.2013.0173

Entrepreneurship education in Nigeria: policy issues and options

programmes in higher education institutions and research centres in order to develop an entrepreneurial spirit and an entrepreneurial culture (Garba, 2010; Akpomi, 2009; Adejimola and Olufunmilayo, 2009, Solomon, 2007 and Matlay, 2009). Globally, entrepreneurship education helps to provide students with the motivation, knowledge and skills essential for establishing a successful business venture (Cho, 1998). However, the level of entrepreneurship education a country attains is related to its particular cultural context (Sang, et al 2005). For instance, while entrepreneurship education is at its earliest stage or, at worst, non-existent in Nigeria, entrepreneurship education is, in contrast, now included in the curriculum at High School level in the USA. In Nigeria the number of unemployed young people is a major concern, the levels of poverty continue to rise and the society is increasingly vulnerable to violence. Although globally national and local government is the largest employer, the private sector plays a pivotal role in reducing unemployment. Unfortunately, the type of education Nigerian students receive from the country’s tertiary institutions has not been very successful in equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed for job creation and self-employment (Amaewhule, 2007, Madumere-obike, 2006 and Nwangwu, 2007). There has been a series of educational policies aimed at improving the country’s educational fortune; but one thing remains constant – all efforts have so far failed to achieve success. The perceived importance of entrepreneurship education has led developed economies to prioritize it in order to sustain national growth and development. According to the Nigerian National Policy on Education, NPE (National Planning Commission, 2004), one of the primary goals of tertiary education in the country is to inculcate both intellectual and physical skills that will enable recipients to be self-sufficient and contribute optimally to the growth of the economy. The development of a nation such as Nigeria is largely dependent on the creative capacity and entrepreneurial spirit of its citizens and their ability to explore and exploit the country’s natural resources, transforming them into products and services that will enhance the overall standard of living (Olaleye, 2010). However, stakeholders in Nigeria’s education sector have left it deficient and vulnerable to abuse, so that education provision often fails to meet international standards and is often intellectually unsound, lacking in technical expertise and economically unproductive. This raises two key questions.

• What has gone wrong with the entrepreneurial spirit of the young Nigerians? This paper seeks to respond and establish a correlation between entrepreneurship education and unemployment and economic development in Nigeria.

Literature review Entrepreneurship is recognized as a significant factor in the functioning of organizations and economies (Dickson et al, 2008). It plays an important role in job and wealth creation, poverty reduction and income generation for both governments and individuals (Garba, 2010). According to Izedonmi and Okafor (2010), entrepreneurship includes the intentional creation or transformation of an organization with the aim of creating or adding value through the management of resources. In this context and for our present purposes we define entrepreneurship as the act of setting up a company and its business operations, with the associated risks, with the intention of generating a financial profit, using skills and knowledge acquired through education. Izedonmi and Okafor suggest (2010) that entrepreneurship education is designed to perpetuate, transfer and inculcate competencies, skills and values required to identify business opportunities and to set up and manage businesses. According to Olaleye (2010), entrepreneurship education centres on the development of the student’s understanding of and capacity with regard to entrepreneurial behaviour, skills and attributes in a variety of contexts. Clearly, economic development and employment creation cannot be sustained with an unproductive educational system or a poor level of entrepreneurship education. Equally, entrepreneurship education can be improved and guaranteed by an appropriately focused national education policy.

Entrepreneurship education in Nigeria

• Why has the unemployment rate in the country continued to rise in spite of the plethora of tertiary institutions across the country?

The NPE was an outcome of the 1973 National Curriculum Conference which produced a draft document that was later fine-tuned in consultation with the States’ Ministries of Education and local government education departments (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004). It was published in 1977 as the first National Policy on Education and has since been revised three times, in 1981, 1998 and 2004, to take into account the changing needs of society and the challenges of national development to keep abreast ‘with the dynamics of social change and the demand for education’ (ibid). Innovations, albeit small in number,

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were also introduced during the three revisions. Section (d) of the ‘Philosophy and Goals’ of education in Nigeria states:

‘. . .the delivery of education in Nigeria has suffered from years of neglect, compounded by inadequate attention to policy frameworks within the sector. Findings from an ongoing educational sector analysis confirm the poor state of education in Nigeria. The national literacy rate is currently 57 percent. Some 49 percent of the teaching force is unqualified.’ (National Planning Commission, 2004)

Although education was the seventh item in the late President Yar’ Adua’s seven point agenda and in spite of a substantial financial allocation in the 2012 Budget, the standard of education continues to dwindle. There are severe infrastructural challenges facing entrepreneurship education in Nigeria; and gender issues and socio-cultural practices impede access to education. Furthermore, ‘the system emphasizes theoretical knowledge at the expense of technical, vocational and entrepreneurial education. School curricula need urgent review to make them relevant and practice oriented’ (National Planning Commission, 2004). Despite this, there appears to be recognition in Nigeria of the critical role of technology in national development. For example, Internet cafes have flourished, new Internet service providers have appeared, computers have been provided in some schools and there is increased availability of connectivity hubs that provide high-speed access to information. Interestingly, the Federal Government of Nigeria has formulated and adopted policies to enhance the application of technology in education. The Nigerian Economic Policy (1999–2003) is an inclusive compendium of former President Obasanjo’s policies and guiding principles for the nation. The policy states that ‘. . .the Government will provide affordable quality education for all Nigerians, the Universal Basic Education and mass Adult Literacy programs will be pursued in earnest’; and, specifically, that ‘. . .the Government will create incentives to expand access to information and communications technology, which will facilitate leap-frogging in order to short-circuit the longer span of development’. The policy even recommends partnerships with national and international agencies, including the United Nations programme for Transfer of Knowledge through Expatriate Nationals. Sadly, the necessary political will is lacking and continuity in government policies and programmes is non-existent (Nwogu and Nwanoruo, 2011; Igweh, 2008). The challenges of policy implementation are still present and the nation has been unable to successfully implement the NPE – which came into existence after more than four years of deliberations at various levels and appeared to offer solutions to many, if not all, of the core educational problems. However, there have clearly been serious problems with regard to its implementation (Dayo, 2009). At present, the educational sector is in a poor state, undermined by political leaders who have supported the implementation of unsatisfactory educational policies in their own economic interests (Nwogu, 2009). According to Kazeem and Ige (2010) the Nigerian education system is poor in quality and standard, limited in its reach and troubling in its prospects. Various education policies, such as Universal Basic Education (UBE) and Universal Primary

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‘There is need for functional education for the promotion of a progressive united Nigeria; to this end, school programmes need to be relevant, practical and comprehensive; while interest and ability should determine the individual direction in education. . .The acquisition of appropriate skills and the development of mental, physical, and social abilities and competencies as equipment for the individual to live in and contribute to the development of the society. . .’ (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004) The NPE also states that Nigeria’s philosophy of education is based on the development of the individual into a sound and effective citizen. Further, it emphasizes the full integration of the individual into the community and the need to provide equal access to educational opportunities for all citizens of the country at primary, secondary and tertiary levels both within and outwith the formal school system. On the basis of this philosophy and goals, skills acquisition and creative studies were introduced into curricula, from primary to university levels. Prior to Nigeria’s independence, the Ashby Commission was established to review the earlier educational policy (Aladekomo, 2004): this culminated in the Investment in Education report of 1960 (Ashby, 1960). The NPE represented a concerted effort to achieve a responsive and viable education system in Nigeria, incorporation entrepreneurship-oriented education, but the lack of adequate facilities and the hiring of unqualified teachers have, among other factors, left the entrepreneurship content of the policy unrealized.

Challenges for entrepreneurial education in Nigeria The generally poor state of education in Nigeria was succinctly portrayed in the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy as follows:

Entrepreneurship education in Nigeria: policy issues and options

Education (UPE), have failed to make adequate provision for entrepreneurship education. The greatest challenge facing the development of education in Nigeria is that of responsibility and control. At present, the various education agencies engage in unhealthy rivalry or competition: this is often the result of the nature and problems of development itself. An important distinction between developed and developing nations lies in the wide disparity often found in the latter between policy pronouncements and policy implementation. Developing nations may produce and accept excellent policies and guidelines that could, if well implemented, enhance the future of their citizens, but the policies are often not then put into practice. Policies are often formulated without a corresponding measurement framework to monitor and evaluate them. If Nigeria follows the introduction of its new statutes regarding education and technology with action and implementation, and the Nigerians attain their educational goals and professional potential, then we may see the transformation of a ‘Third World giant’ (or, as some might say, ‘toothless bulldog’) into an emerging economic giant.

International experience China China’s economic fortunes and successes are the direct outcome of the substantial release of entrepreneurial potential inherent in its business sector (Li et al, 2003). Once seen as a ‘slow development’ economy, China has become one of the fastest growing economies in the world, relying heavily on a well educated and highly skilled workforce. Mindful of the importance of entrepreneurship education in economic growth and employment generation, the Chinese government introduced entrepreneurship education into the secondary school curriculum. Chinese schools prioritize a comprehensive approach in the teaching of entrepreneurial education, with a variety of methods being used, including workshops for students, business competitions, case studies and project-based learning. Cheung (2008) notes that schools offer entrepreneurship programmes integrated into other subjects such as accounting, business administration and commerce. Entrepreneurship education offered in China encompasses the teaching of skills such as collaboration, creativity, communication, critical thinking, numeracy, information technology, problem solving and self-management (Cheung, 2008), all of which enhance a student’s ability to excel as an employee or an entrepreneur, on graduation. China has, in recent years, thus provided an example of outstanding economic and technological development. 346

South Africa Entrepreneurship education in South Africa has remained relatively modest in comparison with that in China. However, in 2007 the Department of Education introduced entrepreneurship into the primary and secondary school curricula; and before that, in 2000, entrepreneurship education had been introduced for Grades 3–9 as part of the Economic Management Sciences (EMS) curriculum (Shay and Wood, 2005). Since then there have been many initiatives in South Africa to boost entrepreneurial activity. Prominent among these are: Junior Achievement, which aims to encourage young people to experiment with business skills and opportunities; the Education with Enterprise Trust, which teaches students about the ‘world of work’ and skills directed primarily towards self-employment; and the Entrepreneurship Education Initiative which, according to North (2002), was initiated to provide a platform for increasing the number of business start-ups and to offer schoolchildren opportunities to participate in competitions that would enhance their understanding of and participation in entrepreneurship. Republic of Korea The entrepreneurial education history of the Republic of Korea (‘South Korea’) is, comparatively, very short. Currently, increasing numbers of colleges and graduate schools are developing entrepreneurship-related courses to meet students’ growing interests (Sang et al, 2005) and the job market for students majoring in entrepreneurship is expected to grow as a result of the increasing demand for entrepreneurial talent (Han and Lee, 1998). At the same time, the South Korean government has strongly supported venture creation by enacting the ‘Special Law for Venture Companies’. The South Korean Ministry of Education has also allocated US$150 million to support entrepreneurial activities in universities with a view to encouraging on-campus start-ups through a new venture loan scheme (Sang et al, 2005). Implementation in Nigeria We would argue strongly that Nigeria needs to follow these examples by means of a well-structured educational policy that places a premium on vocational/entrepreneurship education, in order to achieve its national development goals.

Findings and policy implications Entrepreneurship is now regarded as a key driver for development in any developed or developing nation. The extent of public awareness of the need to contribute INDUSTRY & HIGHER EDUCATION October 2013

Entrepreneurship education in Nigeria: policy issues and options

to the socio-economic and political development of the state is an important factor. A nation therefore needs to establish a culture of creative and innovative thinking and so the process of creating the capacity for creative thinking and decision making needs to be embedded in the curricula of schools, colleges and universities (Eze and Nwali, 2012). The ability of the various Nigerian educational institutions to provide such teaching and training successfully will rely largely upon the availability of facilities and properly qualified teachers. It has been seen that a dearth of qualified personnel, poor funding, a lack of political will on the part of government and unfavourable traditions are principal among the factors that militate against the effective provision of entrepreneurship education in the nation’s educational system. There is an urgent need for a faculty of entrepreneurship education to be established in every Nigerian university, polytechnic, and college of education. Importantly, entrepreneurship education should also be part of the post-primary curriculum. The establishment of institutions specializing in entrepreneurship education is long overdue. A holistic plan is required which makes it compulsory for tertiary institutions and schools to offer courses and subjects on entrepreneurship, economic management science, among other subjects, as a means of exposing young people to the basics and intricacies of entrepreneurship and wealth creation. Nigeria should take the implementation of this educational policy very seriously, given the present state of the national economy and the rising levels of poverty and unemployment. Entrepreneurship education has become an important focal point for many governments throughout the world because of its ability to unlock economic potential. We argue that Nigeria will remain a failing economy and a consumer nation dependent on imports and government jobs unless entrepreneurship is given a significant boost. Furthermore, industrial cities where entrepreneurship has taken root could be supported, in order to bring about the much vaunted development of the nation’s economy. For instance, Nnewi in Anambra State is now home to many major manufacturing industries. Over the last decade, Nnewi has experienced rapid industrialization, with more than 20 medium/large scale industries established across a variety of sectors. The manufacturers and business people of Nnewi are adapting foreign technology to local needs, providing employment to thousands and offering goods and services that correspond to the needs of Nigerians. Aba in Abia state is another industrial hub which has made a significant contribution to the Nigerian economy, in terms of both industrial growth and tourism. However, INDUSTRY & HIGHER EDUCATION October 2013

the apparent neglect of these cities by the Federal Government suggests that Nigeria that does not appreciate the value of creativity, innovation and invention. Nnewi and Aba could serve the country, in supporting and facilitating improvement of the national economy. Financial and infrastructural support could transform these cities into major industrial centres, hopefully with the result of propelling Nigeria into the league of industrialized countries and reducing unemployment. Unfortunately the existing infrastructural facilities currently remain inadequate for such a task. In that context, designing and organizing training and retraining intervention programmes, for teachers and lecturers, are both essential for achieving and maintaining high quality educational output. Teachers should be highly qualified and enthusiastic about their profession; but this may be difficult to achieve in the absence of motivational factors and suitable levels of remuneration. It has to be said that corruption can be regarded as a cancer that has deeply affected Nigerian society. Some N400.15 billion was allocated to the educational sector in the 2012 Budget, but many Nigerians are sceptical about whether even such a large amount will have any positive impact on the currently low standard of Nigerian education. This scepticism arises because of the endemic corruption in the nation: a considerable portion of the budget seemingly goes to private individuals who abandon the sector to the mercy of corrupt administrators. The various anti-corruption agencies need to intensify their efforts to ensure the full and proper implementation of federal budgets.

Conclusions Entrepreneurship education is central to economic advancement, wealth creation, generation of employment and reducing levels of poverty. We would suggest that a key difference between industrialized and non-industrialized consumer nations lies in the general public awareness, or otherwise, of entrepreneurship. While countries such as China, France, Germany and the USA have attained high standards in entrepreneurship education, with resultant positive effects on employment, and are reaping the benefits of long periods of intensive planning, other countries – such as Nigeria, paying lip-service to the process of entrepreneurial development – continue to grapple with unemployment, poverty and rising levels of crime. Education is the cornerstone of every developed and industrialized society in the world. We suggest that a nation that fails to prioritize education, and especially entrepreneurship education, will remain both a perpetual 347

Entrepreneurship education in Nigeria: policy issues and options

importer and consumer of other nations’ goods and a debtor nation. Nigeria’s rising levels of unemployment and poverty and its worsening domestic and external levels of debt are the direct outcomes of its failed educational policies and programmes and of inconsistency and a lack of continuity. The Federal Government of Nigeria – through the Ministry of Education, the Tertiary Education Fund, the National Universities Commission and other bodies – should implement technical, productive and responsive education programmes that will enable young graduates to take advantage of entrepreneurial opportunities. Entrepreneurship education should be made compulsory in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions. The government also needs to put in place the infrastructural facilities that are needed to enable and facilitate entrepreneurial approaches and activities.

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