ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION FOR YOUTH EMPOWERMENT IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES: FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE

Abstract

The concerted efforts by Nigerian government to create employment and empowerment through entrepreneurship education in higher educational institutions as well as various empowerment programmes have not yielded expected result as the rate of employment has continued to rise yearly. This may not be unconnected to the theoretical approach as against practical approach been used by the government to drive its entrepreneurship education policies and programmes. The objective of this study therefore, is to investigate why entrepreneurship programmes amongst Nigerian universities are still theoretically dominated instead of practical. A survey design was adopted to collect primary and secondary data from a population of 80141 and a sample of 400 which was determined using Taro Yamane (1976) formula. The population comprised 5 entrepreneurship teaching staff and 25041 students of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, 8 entrepreneurship teaching staff and 29321 students of Federal University of Technology, Minna, and 5 entrepreneurship teaching staff of and 25751 students of Nasarawa State University, Keffi. Data were presented and analyzed using simple percentage, Statistical Packages for Social Sciences and chi-square. Findings from the study revealed that various entrepreneurship programmes and centers exist in the selected universities with 40% score being allocated to practical and 60% for examinations indicating more emphasis on theory rather than practical. The study concluded that more practical there is significant impact of more practical than theory in entrepreneurship education if employment generation and empowerment. More entrepreneurship centers and workshops should be established in Nigerian universities and
more emphases should be placed on practical than theory.