THE IMPACT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION ON UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA (A STUDY OF PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES UNDERGRADUATES IN EDO STATE)
ABSTRACT The research investigates the impact of entrepreneurial education on Nigeria’s unemployment problems. The research included students from two public institutions in Edo state: Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, and the University of Benin. The survey research approach was used in the study. A questionnaire was utilized to gather data from undergraduates at Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, and the University of Benin. To test the study hypothesis at the 0.05 level of significance, the simple percentage (%) was used. To address the study questions, descriptive statistics using a statistical tool were utilized.
According to the results, entrepreneur education in Nigeria should re-focus on instilling entrepreneurial skills that may help students be creative, and imaginative, design practical business concepts and establish new company enterprises. The SURE-P Graduate Internship Scheme should be welcomed in providing graduates with the necessary skills, and it should be continued and massively supported by the government in order to achieve its goals. GIS should be included in entrepreneurial training programs at higher universities.
The research indicated that entrepreneurial education is important for decreasing unemployment among Nigerian students. The report also suggests that the government develop an investor-friendly climate with stable macroeconomic policies. The educational system must be revitalized, with a focus on science and technology. There is a need to guarantee that people with creative ideas get financial assistance to help them become a reality.
INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTER ONE The Study’s Background Entrepreneurship education may be utilized as a cure for unemployment and poverty eradication for national security since education has remained the primary tool for national development in many nations across the globe. That is why most countries throughout the globe spend vast amounts of money on education for their populations. As a result, education becomes a platform for addressing the sociocultural, economic, political, scientific, and technical difficulties that many countries face. According to Agi and Yellowe (2013), education is vital for human resource development, imparting relevant skills, information, and attitude.
It serves as the foundation for change, industrialization, and the advancement of the global knowledge economy. In terms of security, Agi and Yellowe (2013) highlighted that education is seen as a tool for promoting a culture of peace, gender equality, and good African values. Many people believe that education contributes to a country’s change and progress by reducing poverty and ensuring peace and security. The National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (2004) document validates education’s importance by explicitly defining its role in self-reliance and development. According to Agi and Yellowe (2013), the aims of wealth creation or production, poverty reduction, and value re-orientation can only be reached and maintained via an effective education system that influences the appropriate skills, knowledge, capabilities, attitudes, and values.
Given the aforementioned advantages of education, Nigeria has offered education for decades with an abundance of accessible personnel. However, what continues to agitate the country is the sluggish and inefficient economy, near primitive democracy, and violent social coexistence in society (NEEDS, 2004). Many basic and secondary school and postsecondary institution graduates are unemployed, either by themselves or by the government. According to Ochonma (2011), over 2.8 million new graduates join the labor market each year, with barely 10% of them being gainfully employed. Unemployment, as defined by the International Labour Organization (1982), occurs when persons are unemployed and have actively sought work during the previous five weeks. The unemployment rate is a measure of the frequency of unemployment and is derived as a percentage by dividing the number of jobless people by the total number of people who are presently in the labor force.
According to Newsweek (2011), more than 200 million people worldwide are unemployed, a record high, with over two-thirds of industrialized economies and half of developing nations suffering a slowdown in job growth. The genesis of unemployment was a reliance on work to produce money to purchase food and shelter. There is little historical data on unemployment since it has not always been recognized or tracked regularly. Unemployment was gradually recognized as economies throughout the globe industrialized and bureaucratized. The idea of “unemployment” is best demonstrated by the well-documented historical records in England. In 16th-century England, for example, no difference was made between vagrants and the unemployed; they were simply labeled as “sturdy beggars,” to be chastised and moved on (Business Week, 2011). Unemployment occurs when a person is unable to join a business or establish a job. Individual farmers, merchants, and craftsmen who cannot join or compete favorably become jobless when huge companies form. As the population grew, people who couldn’t find labor had two options: starve or violate the law. Global youth unemployment has hit a new level and is expected to rise higher.
In 2002-2003, the young population in Sub-Saharan Africa was projected to be 138 million, with 28.9 million, or 21%, jobless (ILO, 2004b). There are significant gender variations in young unemployment. Despite having a lower participation rate, the unemployment rate for young women in Sub-Saharan Africa is 18.4%, which is lower than the rate for young males (23.1%). Youth unemployment in Africa has a geographical component as well. It is often higher in cities than in rural regions. Several reasons contribute to Africa’s high young unemployment rate, most notably poor economic growth, low economic activity, and low investment.
These connected problems lead to limited job creation, and the tiny labor market is unable to absorb the accompanying army of job seekers due to continued (in some instances, increased) population growth. Because most graduates lack relevant marketable skills, youth unemployment has been rising. According to the Federal Government, over 80% of Nigeria’s young are jobless, while 10% are underemployed (Daily Trust, 2008). According to the National Bureau of Statistics (2010), between 2000 and 2009, the national unemployment rate in Nigeria was 31.1%, 13.6% in 2001, 12.6% in 2002, 13.4% in 2004, 13.7% in 2006, 14.9% in 2008, and 19.7% in 2009. In terms of age, education, and gender, NBS (2010) statistics revealed that 41.6% of those aged 15 to 24 were jobless. 17% of those between the ages of 25 and 44 were jobless. People with a basic education were 14.8% unemployed, while those with a postsecondary degree were 21.3% unemployed.
In terms of gender, statistics indicated that men made up 17.3% of the jobless, while females made up 23.3%. Entrepreneurship is more than simply skill acquisition for the sake of skill acquisition; it is the acquisition of skills and ideas for the purpose of producing employment for oneself and others. It also incorporates creativity-based development (Oseni, Momoh, and Momodu, 2012). Entrepreneurship results in the creation of small, medium, and even large-scale firms based on creativity and innovation. The success of these firms, in turn, contributes to the growth of the nation’s economy. It decreases poverty rates while also increasing young employment rates. Entrepreneurship transforms young people from “job searchers” to “job creators,” as well as from societal dependents to self-sufficient individuals.
Training, on the other hand, is critical in entrepreneurship. Similarly, Chiguta (2001) observes that entrepreneurship is gaining popularity as a source of job creation, empowerment for the jobless, and economic dynamism in a fast-globalizing world. The rate of unemployment has been shown to be adversely associated with entrepreneurial growth (Oladele, Akeke, and Oladunjoye, 2011). In every nation, a high rate of unemployment has been linked to a low degree of entrepreneurial growth.
This demonstrates the need to increase entrepreneurial activity in order to minimize the high prevalence of young unemployment. Statement of the Issue Analyzing the education problem in Nigeria, Agi, and Yellowe (2013) argued that the issue is not one of curriculum or investment in education, nor is it one of a lack of manpower for the sector, but that many have tended to look in the direction of education management, which includes a lack of policy analysis to make students fit into society, while not relying on the government of the day but the managerial ingenuity of educational managers and administrators. According to Mills, Nwadiani (2011), education encompasses not just the purposeful procedures of schooling, but also indirect and accidental impacts. This notion of education addresses formal and informal education, seeing education as continuing beyond the traditional school system and including non-formal education, making the whole learning process a continuous one that ends in dearth.
However, in light of recent events – unemployment, underemployment, poverty, and their repercussions – many people have previously criticized formal education for its lack of relevance, while others have harshly criticized informal education for failing to promote much-needed development and scientific and technological breakthroughs. According to Nwadiani (2011), there are misunderstandings that non-formal education is inexpensive, created for the poor, and only appropriate for developing nations. It should be highlighted that these erroneous assumptions are factors working against the acceptability and popularization of entrepreneurship in Nigeria’s educational policy formulation and execution.
The Study’s Goal The study’s major goal is to look at the role of entrepreneurship education in tackling Nigeria’s unemployment problems. Specifically, the goals were Students’ perspectives on Nigeria’s unemployment issues. Students’ perspectives on the consequences of unemployment in Nigeria Students’ perspectives on the need for entrepreneurship education in addressing Nigeria’s young unemployment crisis. Research Issues To guide the investigation, the following research questions have been emphasized.
What do students think about the reasons for unemployment in Nigeria? What do students think about the impact of unemployment in Nigeria? Students’ perspectives on the need for entrepreneurship education in addressing Nigeria’s young unemployment crisis. The Study’s Importance This research will assist university professors, students, the government, and the university administration. The research will demonstrate the reasons, impacts, and importance of entrepreneurship education in addressing the issue of young unemployment in Nigeria.
The research will reveal to university professors the areas to focus on in the school curriculum in order to build the entrepreneurial minds of students for creating employment, as well as the necessity for incorporating entrepreneurship education into the school curriculum in Nigeria. The study of their children during childbirth and training cannot be influenced by the parents toward the course of study at a higher institution. Finally, the study’s results will demonstrate to the government the importance of entrepreneurship education in addressing the issue of young unemployment in Nigeria.
The Study’s Scope This research investigates the role of entrepreneurial education in alleviating Nigeria’s unemployment problems. The research will be conducted among students from Edo state’s two public institutions, Ambrose Alli University in Ekpoma and the University of Benin. Term Definitions Some of the phrases and ideas used in this research effort need clarification for a better comprehension of the work. Unemployment happens when individuals are out of jobs and actively looking for work. It is a circumstance in which a person of working age is unable to find work yet wants to work full-time.
Unemployment is a measure of the prevalence of unemployment and is computed as a parentage by dividing the number of jobless people by the total number of people who are presently in the labor force. Entrepreneurship Training: Entrepreneurship education tries to give students with the information, skills, and drive to support entrepreneurship, while management education focuses on the best way to run current hierarchies. Both techniques share a desire to achieve “profit” in some form, and entrepreneurial education is available at all levels of education, from basic and secondary schools to graduate university programs. Perception is the organizing, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and comprehend the world. All perception requires nervous system impulses, which come from the physical or chemical activation of sense organs.
The research investigates the impact of entrepreneurial education on Nigeria’s unemployment problems. The research included students from two public institutions in Edo state: Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, and the University of Benin.
The survey research approach was used in the study. A questionnaire was utilized to gather data from undergraduates at Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, and the University of Benin. To test the study hypothesis at the 0.05 level of significance, the simple percentage (%) was used. To address the study questions, descriptive statistics using a statistical tool were utilized.
According to the results, entrepreneur education in Nigeria should re-focus on instilling entrepreneurial skills that may help students be creative, and imaginative, design practical business concepts and establish new company enterprises. The SURE-P Graduate Internship Scheme should be welcomed in providing graduates with the necessary skills, and it should be continued and massively supported by the government in order to achieve its goals. GIS should be included in entrepreneurial training programs at higher universities.
The research indicated that entrepreneurial education is important for decreasing unemployment among Nigerian students. The report also suggests that the government develop an investor-friendly climate with stable macroeconomic policies. The educational system must be revitalized, with a focus on science and technology. There is a need to guarantee that people with creative ideas get financial assistance to help them become a reality. Entrepreneurship education may be utilized as a cure for unemployment and poverty eradication for national security since education has remained the primary tool for national development in many nations across the globe.
That is why most countries throughout the globe spend vast amounts of money on education for their populations. As a result, education becomes a platform for addressing the sociocultural, economic, political, scientific, and technical difficulties that many countries face. According to Agi and Yellowe (2013), education is vital for human resource development, imparting relevant skills, information, and attitude. It serves as the foundation for change, industrialization, and the advancement of the global knowledge economy. In terms of security, Agi and Yellowe (2013) highlighted that education is seen as a tool for promoting a culture of peace, gender equality, and good African values. Many people believe that education contributes to a country’s change and progress by reducing poverty and ensuring peace and security.
The National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (2004) document validates the role of education in self-reliance and development. Agi and Yellowe (2013) agree, stating that the goals of wealth creation or generation, poverty reduction, and value re-orientation can only be attained and sustained through an efficient education system that impacts the relevant skills, knowledge, capacities, attitudes, and behaviors. Given the aforementioned advantages of education, Nigeria has offered education for decades with an abundance of accessible personnel.
However, what continues to agitate the country is the sluggish and inefficient economy, near primitive democracy, and violent social coexistence in society (NEEDS, 2004). Many basic and secondary school and postsecondary institution graduates are unemployed, either by themselves or by the government. According to Ochonma (2011), over 2.8 million new graduates join the labor market each year, with barely 10% of them being gainfully employed. Unemployment, as defined by the International Labour Organization (1982), occurs when persons are unemployed and have actively sought work during the previous five weeks. The unemployment rate is a measure of the frequency of unemployment and is derived as a percentage by dividing the number of jobless people by the total number of people who are presently in the labor force.
According to Newsweek (2011), more than 200 million people worldwide are unemployed, a record high, with over two-thirds of industrialized economies and half of developing nations suffering a slowdown in job growth. The genesis of unemployment was a reliance on work to produce money to purchase food and shelter. There is little historical data on unemployment since it has not always been recognized or tracked regularly. Unemployment was gradually recognized as economies throughout the globe industrialized and bureaucratized. The idea of “unemployment” is best demonstrated by the well-documented historical records in England. In 16th-century England, for example, no difference was made between vagrants and the unemployed; they were simply labeled as “sturdy beggars,” to be chastised and moved on (Business Week, 2011). Unemployment occurs when a person is unable to join a business or establish a job.
Individual farmers, merchants, and craftsmen who cannot join or compete favorably become jobless when huge companies form. As the population grew, people who couldn’t find labor had two options: starve or violate the law. Global youth unemployment has hit a new level and is expected to rise higher. In 2002-2003, the young population in Sub-Saharan Africa was projected to be 138 million, with 28.9 million, or 21%, jobless (ILO, 2004b). There are significant gender variations in young unemployment.
Despite having a lower participation rate, the unemployment rate for young women in Sub-Saharan Africa is 18.4%, which is lower than the rate for young males (23.1%). Youth unemployment in Africa has a geographical component as well. It is often higher in cities than in rural regions. Several reasons contribute to Africa’s high young unemployment rate, most notably poor economic growth, low economic activity, and low investment. These connected problems lead to limited job creation, and the tiny labor market is unable to absorb the accompanying army of job seekers due to continued (in some instances, increased) population growth.
Because most graduates lack relevant marketable skills, youth unemployment has been rising. According to the Federal Government, over 80% of Nigeria’s young are jobless, while 10% are underemployed (Daily Trust, 2008). According to the National Bureau of Statistics (2010), between 2000 and 2009, the national unemployment rate in Nigeria was 31.1%, 13.6% in 2001, 12.6% in 2002, 13.4% in 2004, 13.7% in 2006, 14.9% in 2008, and 19.7% in 2009. In terms of age, education, and gender, NBS (2010) statistics revealed that 41.6% of those aged 15 to 24 were jobless. 17% of those between the ages of 25 and 44 were jobless. People with a basic education were 14.8% unemployed, while those with a postsecondary degree were 21.3% unemployed. In terms of gender, statistics indicated that men made up 17.3% of the jobless, while females made up 23.3%. Entrepreneurship is more than simply skill acquisition for the sake of skill acquisition; it is the acquisition of skills and ideas for the purpose of producing employment for oneself and others.
It also incorporates creativity-based development (Oseni, Momoh, and Momodu, 2012). Entrepreneurship results in the creation of small, medium, and even large-scale firms based on creativity and innovation. The success of these firms, in turn, contributes to the growth of the nation’s economy. It decreases poverty rates while also increasing young employment rates. Entrepreneurship transforms young people from “job searchers” to “job creators,” as well as from societal dependents to self-sufficient individuals. Training, on the other hand, is critical in entrepreneurship.
Similarly, Chiguta (2001) observes that entrepreneurship is gaining popularity as a source of job creation, empowerment for the jobless, and economic dynamism in a fast-globalizing world. The rate of unemployment has been shown to be adversely associated with entrepreneurial growth (Oladele, Akeke, and Oladunjoye, 2011). In every nation, a high rate of unemployment has been linked to a low degree of entrepreneurial growth.
This demonstrates the need to increase entrepreneurial activity in order to minimize the high prevalence of young unemployment. Analyzing the education problem in Nigeria, Agi and Yellowe (2013) argued that the issue is not one of curriculum or investment in education, nor is it one of a lack of manpower for the sector, but that many have tended to look at the direction of education management, which includes a lack of policy analysis to make students fit into society, while not relying on the government of the day but the managerial ingenuity of educational managers and administrators.
According to Mills, Nwadiani (2011), education encompasses not just the purposeful procedures of schooling, but also indirect and accidental impacts. This notion of education addresses formal and informal education, seeing education as continuing beyond the traditional school system and including non-formal education, making the whole learning process a continuous one that ends in dearth. However, in light of recent events – unemployment, underemployment, poverty, and their repercussions – many people have previously criticized formal education for its lack of relevance, while others have harshly criticized informal education for failing to promote much-needed development and scientific and technological breakthroughs.
According to Nwadiani (2011), there are misunderstandings that non-formal education is inexpensive, created for the poor, and only appropriate for developing nations. It should be highlighted that these erroneous assumptions are factors working against the acceptability and popularization of entrepreneurship in Nigeria’s educational policy formulation and execution.
The study’s major goal is to look at the role of entrepreneurship education in tackling Nigeria’s unemployment problems. Specifically, the goals were to: To guide the investigation, and the following research questions have been emphasized.
The Study’s Importance This research will assist university professors, students, the government, and the university administration. The research will demonstrate the reasons, impacts, and importance of entrepreneurship education in addressing the issue of young unemployment in Nigeria.
The research will reveal to university professors the areas to focus on in the school curriculum in order to build the entrepreneurial minds of students for creating employment, as well as the necessity for incorporating entrepreneurship education into the school curriculum in Nigeria.
The study of their children during childbirth and training cannot be influenced by the parents toward the course of study at a higher institution. Finally, the study’s results will demonstrate to the government the importance of entrepreneurship education in addressing the issue of young unemployment in Nigeria.
This research investigates the role of entrepreneurial education in alleviating Nigeria’s unemployment problems. The research will be conducted among students from Edo state’s two public institutions, Ambrose Alli University in Ekpoma and the University of Benin. Some of the phrases and ideas utilized in this study effort need clarification for better comprehension. Among them are
Unemployment happens when individuals are out of jobs and actively looking for work. It is a circumstance in which a person of working age is unable to find work yet wants to work full-time. Unemployment is a measure of the prevalence of unemployment and is computed as a parentage by dividing the number of jobless people by the total number of people who are presently in the labor force.
Entrepreneurship education tries to educate students with the information, skills, and drive to inspire entrepreneurship education focuses on opportunity realization, while management education focuses on the best method to run current hierarchies. Both techniques share a desire to achieve “profit” in some form, and entrepreneurial education is available at all levels of education, from basic and secondary schools to graduate university programs.
Perception is the organizing, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and comprehend the world. All perception requires nervous system impulses, which come from the physical or chemical activation of sense organs.
