Entrepreneurship Education in Nigeria Olayemi Adedayo Ezekiel

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Journal for Studies in Management and Planning Available at http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/

e-ISSN: 2395-0463 Volume 02 Issue 5 May 2016

Entrepreneurship Education in Nigeria Olayemi Adedayo Ezekiel

Department of Business Education, College of Education, Ikere Ekiti. Nigeria. E- mail: [email protected] Abstract This

paper

discusses

the

entrepreneurship

education

geared

enhancing

towards

development

in

the

need in

for

Entrepreneurship study across faculties and

Nigeria

departments as general courses in the

sustainable

country.

Since

country.

The

federal

government

in

collaboration with state governments should

entrepreneurship skills remain vital in the

provide

scholarships/bursaries

real sector and the sustenance of economic

performing

development, it has become imperative for

encouragement, Entrepreneurship education

government to pay attention to this sub-

should be introduced by youth early in their

sector. The problems facing the country

primary, secondary and tertiary institution,

ranging from acute poverty, youth and

e.t.c

students

by

for

way

of

graduate unemployment, dependence on foreign goods and technology; to very low

Keywords: Entrepreneurship Education,

economic growth and development among

Vocational Training, Sustainable

others

Development, Entrepreneur, Education.

has

prompted

government’s

recognition of this fact that has led to the

Introduction

introduction of entrepreneurial studies in

With the soaring unemployment rate in

tertiary institutions. This paper therefore

Nigeria,

argues that entrepreneurship education will

enterprise initiatives are presently high on

equip the students with the skills with which

the country’s national agenda, in the hope

to be self-reliant. The paper recommends

that they will provide alternative channels of

that educational programmers at all levels

employment. Yearly, thousand of university

of education should be made relevant to

graduates join the labour market in search of

provide

needed

gainful employment. The challenge is thus

entrepreneurial skills, All stakeholders must

one of not only tackling the already sizeable

encourage the proposed introduction of

unemployed graduates, but also of absorbing

the

youth

the

self

employment

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and

small

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the new entrants into the labour market.

The

Underlying this situation is the fact that the

entrepreneurship

training which tertiary students receive has

according to Cotton, O’Gorman and Stampfi

not been fully successful in equipping them

(2000) is that it will help graduates to

with

acquire

desirable

required

skills

for

job

employment

and

competencies

creation

and

(Madumere-obike,

self 2006,

rationale

for

e-ISSN: 2395-0463 Volume 02 Issue 5 May 2016

the

curricula

increased

entrepreneurship,

inclusion in

of

universities

understanding equip

them

of with

entrepreneurial approach to the world of

Amaewhule, 2007 and Nwangwu, 2007).

work

The realization of this critical fact underlies

entrepreneurs

the directive of the Federal Government to

businesses.

all tertiary education regulatory agencies to

entrepreneurship

establish

the

presented by the European Union (2002)

introduction, development and sustenance of

include: “raising students’ awareness of self

entrepreneurial

employment as a career option (the message

necessary

mechanisms

culture

among

for

Nigerian

youths.

and

prepare

them

and

managers

Thus,

the

education

to

act of

as new

objectives as

of

succinctly

being that you can become not only an

Entrepreneurship

education has come to

employee, but also an employer); promoting

denote all forms of knowledge delivery that

the development of personal qualities that

seek to empower the individual to create real

are relevant to entrepreneurship, such as

wealth in the economic sector, thereby

creativity, risk taking and responsibility; and

advancing the cause of development of the

providing the technical and business skills

nation as a whole.

that are needed in order to start a new

According to Bassey and Archibong (2005),

venture”. From the foregoing it can be

the goal of entrepreneurship education is

deduced that exposure of university students

intended

to entrepreneurial education will ginger- up

to

empower

our

graduates

irrespective of their areas of specialization

entrepreneurial drive in students and

with skills that will enable them to engage in

properly packaged, can be a significant

income yielding venture, if they are unable

factor in chronic unemployment reduction

to secure jobs in the public sector. It is a

among graduates.

reorientation

In Nigeria, entrepreneurship education is

creators.

from

job

seekers

to

job

if

still at its infancy. While most Nigerian

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universities have initiated the programme,

It has been realized obviously that the type

little research is available to assess its

of

impact and also to confirm if a relationship

institutions produce

exists between students taking courses in

there is no market demands. Graduates are

entrepreneurship

produced

and

their

intention

of

education

offered

in

most

tertiary

graduates for whom

for wage employment in the

becoming entrepreneurs.

formal sector. Unemployment of graduates

Therefore, the move by the government

from

through the Federal Ministry of Education to

become a major national problem as it is

make entrepreneurship education one of the

observed. This paper therefore attempts to

compulsory general studies for students in

find

universities across the country should be

Nigeria.

Nigerian

out

tertiary

entrepreneurship

institution

education

has

in

seen as a positive step in the right direction. This is to inculcate in the youths the spirit of

Conceptual Consideration

self reliance. This development will not only

Entrepreneurship:

address the problem of unemployment and

education means many different things to

underemployment but will also ensure an

educators from primary schools to

entrepreneurial human capacity for national

university level. At each level of education,

development. It is the hope that with the

it is reasonable to expect different outcomes

introduction of entrepreneurial education in

as students mature and build on previous

our tertiary institutions the universities will

knowledge. The overall purpose remains to

better be repositioned to become centres of

develop expertise as an entrepreneur.

excellence with the equipping of technical

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship

the

education

laboratories both at secondary and tertiary

according to Isaac, Visser, Friedrick and

levels. This will put the country on the path

Brijlal (2007) is the purposeful intervention

to join communities of nations that have

by an educator in the life of the learner to

fought

survive in the world of business. It has as its

poverty

through

small scale businesses.

strengthening

of

focus

an

embodied Statement of the Problem

action in

orientation

primarily

teaching students

how to

develop a business plan Ronstadt, (1985). Entrepreneurship

education

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develops

and

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stimulates entrepreneurial process, providing

wealth. They went further to explain that

all tools necessary for starting up new

entrepreneurship is the personalized version

ventures Postigo and Tomborini (2002). It is

of actualizing one’s desire, ambition, and

commonly

expression.

believed

that

entrepreneurship

education is an imperative that would make a positive contribution to improving the

Entrepreneur:

entrepreneurship

enterprising individual who

leading

to

orientation

the

of

acquisition

people,

of

An

entrepreneur

is

an

builds capital

skills,

through risk and for initiative. The term was

creativity, confidence, drive and courage, in

originally a loan word from French and was

order to create employment for self and

first defined by the Irish – French economist

others.

Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English

Also the definition postulated by wikipedia,

is a term applied to a person who is willing

“is the act of being an entrepreneur” or “one

to help launch a new venture or enterprise

who

and

undertakes innovations, finance and

accept

full

the

entrepreneur

was

outcomes.

innovations into economic goods”. This may

coined

result in new organizations or may be part of

‘entrepredre’ which means a person who

revitalizing mature organizations in response

voluntarily head the military expedition. It

to

most

was first used during the French military

obvious form of entrepreneurship is that of

history in the seventeenth century. Ojeifo

starting new business which is referred to as

(2010)

Startup Company.

Entrepreneurial

perceived

Gana

opportunity.

(2001),

The

defined

it

from

word

for

business acumen in an effort to transform

a

The

responsibility

a

French

in his book,

word

called

a Handbook

Development

in

on

Nigeria

as

defined an entrepreneur as the owner or the

willingness and ability of an individual to

manager of business enterprise who through

seek

risks and initiative, attempts to make a

out investment opportunities in an

environment and be able to establish and run an

enterprise

successfully

based

profit.

on

identified opportunities. Hisrich and Peters (2002), simply captured the term as the dynamic process of creating incremental

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Objectives

of

Entrepreneurship

them to persist in any business venture they

Education

embark on.

Entrepreneurship education seeks to provide

10. Create smooth transition from traditional

students with the knowledge, skills and

to a modern industrial economy.

motivation success

to

encourage

in

a

Entrepreneurship

entrepreneurial

variety

of

education

settings.

according

to

Importance

of

Entrepreneurship

Education in Nigeria

Paul (2005) is structured to achieve the

The importance of entrepreneurship to any

following objectives.

economy is like that of entrepreneurship in

1. To offer functional education for the

any

youth that will enable them to be self-

and the resultant financial gain are always of

employed and self-reliant.

benefit to a country.

2.

Provide

the

youth

graduates

with

community:

Entrepreneurship

entrepreneurship

education

activity

focuses

on

adequate training that will enable them to be

developing understanding and capacity for

creative and innovative in identifying novel

pursuit of entrepreneurial behaviors, skills

business opportunities.

and attributes in widely different context. It

3. To serve as a catalyst for economic

can be portrayed as open to all. The

growth and development.

propensity to behave entrepreneurially is not

4. Offer tertiary institution graduates with

exclusive to

adequate training in risk management, to

individuals will have a different mix of

make certain bearing feasible.

capabilities for demonstrating and acquiring

5. To reduce high rule of poverty.

entrepreneurial

6. Create employment generation.

attributes. These behaviors can be practiced,

7. Reduction in rural – urban migration.

developed and learned; hence it is important

8. Provide the young graduates with enough

to expose all students to entrepreneurship

training and support that will enable them to

education.

establish a career in small and medium sized

Entrepreneurial skills and attributes provide

businesses.

benefits

9. To inculcate the spirit of perseverance in

application to business activity. Obviously,

the youths and adults which will enable

personal

to

certain individuals.

behaviors,

society,

qualities

even

that

Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/

are

Different

skills

beyond relevant

and

their to

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entrepreneurship such as creativity and a

Entrepreneurship

spirit of initiative can be useful to everyone

creation of more wealth through existence of

in their working responsibilities and in their

smaller one in a country which contributes

day-to-day existence.

largely to

Entrepreneurship

education

education

leads

to

the

the Gross Domestic Product

(GDP) of a nation.

programme equip individuals with business

In the theory of distribution put forward by

and personal attributes values and ethics as

Say (1824), a neoclassical economist, the

well as managerial skills and competencies

entrepreneur plays a crucial role, though he

for

or she is not a production factor. Unlike the

establishing

and

operating

private

enterprise as means of eradicating the effect

capitalist,

of

application of acquired knowledge to the

unemployment

and

poverty.

the

Entrepreneurship education as a veritable

production

part of vocational/business education plays a

consumption.

significant

From

role

in

solving

unemployment

problems.

entrepreneur of

the

goods

above

Entrepreneurship

As noted by Ojo and Gabinije (2006) entrepreneurship

for

the

human

advantages/benefits

should

be

taught

to

students in all disciplines in institutions of

enable

the

higher learning. It is not out of place to say

employable

and

that many business ideas emerge from non-

entrepreneurial skills to make them, stand on

business disciplines but are often waved

their own because of the knowledge and

aside or ignored because students are not

creative ability they have gained which are

sufficiently educated in the knowledge and

also needed for self-employment without

skills required.

recipient

to

education

directs

develop

relying on government for salaried jobs. Entrepreneurship

education

trains

What

is

the

Contribution

of

people to establish small and medium scale

Entrepreneurship to Nigeria’s Economic

business

Development?

through

knowledge and

entrepreneurial

skills,

managerial abilities, they

i.

Entrepreneurship

will not only engage in business activities,

significantly

but they will employ others to work them

development, because it

and

employment for job seekers;

become

employment

of

labour.

to

has

Nigeria’s

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contributed economy

has created more

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ii.

The unfavorable economic condition

has

not

allowed

entrepreneurship

c) Absence of regulatory mechanisms for effective

oversight

of

enterprise

development to promote Nigeria’s economic

development initiatives, especially those in

development.

the MSME space.

iii.

d) The presence of administrative and trade

Corruption and nepotism has made

government

efforts

entrepreneurship

to

to

promote

below

expectation;

barriers that curtail capacity building and inhibit access to technical support.

hence no significant contribution has been

e)

made.

(especially

with

electricity)

and

iv.

The large scale unemployment that

bedevils

the

significant

economy

shows

that

no

improvement has been made in

Significant

infrastructural regards

to

deficits

roads

systematic

and

irregularities

inimical to small businesses. f)

Absence

of a

regulatory

encourages

innovative

the area of entrepreneurship development.

environment

v.

enterprise development at the grassroots

to

The contribution of entrepreneurship Nigeria’s

economic

development

is

marginal due to the lack of access to capital.

that

pro-active

level. g) No doubt, one of the biggest challenges of any entrepreneur is access to capital.

Challenges

of

Entrepreneurship

Education in Nigeria The

following

obstacles

are

facing

Education the

most

rapid

important

entrepreneurial

development in Nigeria. a)

Rampant

Strategies for Effective Entrepreneurship

political

In

order

achieve

viable

entrepreneurship education that will enhance sustainable

development

in

Nigeria

the

bureaucratic

following strategies according to Ayodele

corruption together with the absence of

(2006) will help to alleviate the problem of

social

entrepreneurship education in the country.

consensus

and

to

on

important

macroeconomic policy issues.

1. There should

be some form of

b) Poor access to vocational and skills –

genuine school work based learning

development training for rural and urban

incorporated in some studies as part

youths involved in the informal economy.

of

the

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national

economic

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development

strategies.

development

2.

Conclusion

apprenticeship

Since many years ago, Nigeria has a history

scheme would give new graduates

of economic stagnation that has led to

some work skills and experience.

decline in white collar jobs. The inclusion of

Pool local public and private funds

entrepreneurship

to create a small venture capital

will to a great extent, assist in solving this

fund.

problems

3. School

of

The

e-ISSN: 2395-0463 Volume 02 Issue 5 May 2016

based

high

unemployment

and

where

underemployment in Nigeria. The concept,

students identify potential business,

objectives, importance of entrepreneurship

plan,

education,

create

enterprises

of

course in all disciplines

and

operate

small

challenges

and

for

business using the school as mini-

effective

incubators.

discussed and recommendations formed the

4. Provide where

small

business

interested

schools

students

entrepreneurship

education were

later part of the paper.

and

community members can participate. 5. Develop

entrepreneurship

strategies

internship

Recommendations 1. All stakeholders must encourage the

programmes matching students with

proposed

locally successful entrepreneurs with

Entrepreneurship study across faculties

clearly

and departments as general courses in

established

education

programmes. 6. Establishing

introduction

of

the country. The federal government in an

enterprise

college

collaboration

with

state

governments

aimed at fostering the specific skills

should provide scholarships/bursaries for

sets required for entrepreneurship to

performing

serve as skill acquisition centres for

encouragement.

the youths. 7. Creating

2. Entrepreneurial an

economic

friendly

political environment. 8. Improving

students

on

the

government

taxation on small scale businesses.

by

education

introduced

by

youth

primary,

secondary

way

of

should

be

early and

in

their tertiary

institution. 3. Government must be committed to the needs

of

quality

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or

functional

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entrepreneurship curricula at all levels of

Science

education and be reviewed at regular

Harcourt.

intervals especially three-five years.

[3]

4. Federal Government should legislate on collaboration

between

industry

and

education in Nigeria. 5. Government

should

and

Technology,

Nkpolu

Port

Bassey, U. U. & Archibong, I. A.

(2005).

Assuring quality graduate output

through entrepreneurial oriented education in Nigerian universities. Nigerian Journal of

also

implement

Curriculum Studies, 12(3),18-23.

other ways suggested in this study to

[4]

reposition entrepreneurship education at

C.(2002). Can national education policies

regular basis.

meet the call for more entrepreneur? A

6. The National Universities Commission

Cotton, J., O'Gorman, C. & Stampfi,

project

supported

by

(NUC) should as usual set the minimum

community

benchmark of the courses in Nigerian

FIN/00/C/P/RF/92650)

universities.

March, 2005.

This

development

should

the

(Project

Number

-

(www.google.com);

not be politicized, rather, the entire

[5]

policy

report of the expert group "Best procedure"

frameworks

sustainability

and

needed

for

its

improvement should

European

European

project

on

Union.

(

Education

be provided so as to salvage Nigeria

Entrepreneurship.

from clutches of poverty.

Commission

2002).

and

Brussels:

Directorate

-

Final

Training for European General

for

Enterprise. Reference

[6]

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