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STATUS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the status of entrepreneurship education in relation to the course contents and mode of delivering in South-South Nigerian tertiary institutions. The study population comprised all the 215 entrepreneurship education lecturers in the target institutions (universities, polytechnics and colleges of education) as at March 2012. No sampling was done because the population size was manageable. Five research questions guided the study while five null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The survey research design was adopted for the study and a 60- item structured questionnaire was used as instrument for data collection. The instrument was validated by four experts and tested for its reliability using Cronbach Apha and a reliability value of 0.87 was obtained. Copies of the instrument were administered on 215 entrepreneurship education lecturers and 200 copies were recovered representing about 92.7 percent. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions and determine the homogeneity of respondents’ opinions. The null hypotheses were tested using inferential statistics of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Z-Score. The findings revealed that respondents agreed that entrepreneurship education course contents are appropriate for preparing graduates to participate effectively in the world of work but the time and resources are found to be inadequately provided while the lecturers mostly used the orthodox lecture method. Consequently, teaching the course is theory-based at the expense of practical training. Strategies such as academic-industrial synergy, predictive expectancy; a motivational strategy, lecturer’s collegiality, follow-up service, consistent internal monitoring and evaluation were seen to be relevant to enhance effective delivering of the course contents. The respondents did not differ significantly in their opinions in all the null hypotheses tested. Therefore, it was recommended, among others, that authorities of tertiary institutions should make conscious effort to engage in symbiotic relationship between institutions and industries (formal or informal) within their localities in order to use their facilities/equipment for students’ effective practical training throughout their academic programme. It was also recommended that the status of entrepreneurship education should continuously be analysed to ensure focus for appropriate action towards the effective delivering of the course contents to guarantee quality assurance that could boost employment generation.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study 

Entrepreneurship education in Nigeria came about as a means of proffering solution to the unemployment challenges facing young tertiary school graduates. It would be recalled that graduates of tertiary institutions were ‘hot cake’ in Nigeria employment in the past; before and during the sudden emergence of the oil boom in the ‘70s when the numbers of tertiary institutions were relatively few and graduates were easily employed immediately after graduation. The employment situation then was quite appreciable but the current situation of unemployment in Nigeria is a strong detractor. The unemployment scourge in Nigeria could be traceable to the proliferation of tertiary institutions and graduates without corresponding increase in job opportunities, whether in public or private organisations; that is, the mass production of graduates was not targeted at the available job opportunities or the creation of new ones. Agbakuru (2012) reported that Sanusi Lamido, Governor of Central Bank in his speech at the annual University of Calabar lecture series attributed the increasing rate of unemployment in Nigeria to the mass production of graduates from the increasing number of tertiary institutions without corresponding increase in job opportunities and noted that it would increase if no critical set is taken to salvage the situation. The over-dependence on oil-reliant economy and the economic recession since in the mid ‘80s equally contributed to the high level of unemployment in Nigeria. The dearth of employment opportunities resulted in brain-drain of the labour force and social vices such as kidnapping, armed robbery, prostitution and advanced fee fraud (419) among others became rampant. The consequences of unemployment can adversely affect any nation including Nigeria.

The consequences of unemployment can be abated through entrepreneurship development by way of establishment of cottage industries, small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs). Entrepreneurship development is an important tool that can combat unemployment and alleviate poverty which is highly recognized globally as the

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