ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION IN NIGERIA: ISSUES, CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES

Abstract

By 2012 report of the National Bureau of Statistic, Nigeria’s population reached
about 167 million people in 2012. The National Population Commission (NPoC, 2013) report further stated that about half of the population is made up of youth, between 15 and 34 years of age. Unfortunately, as the youth population grows, so does the unemployment rate. For instance the unemployed youth numbered about 11.1 million in 2012. The paucity of accurate statistics notwithstanding, the rate continues to rise yearly with the army of graduates being turned out of secondary and tertiary institutions. This increase would be higher if we include those who have been sent out of jobs as a result of
the downturn in the economy resulting from closure of many manufacturing industries. Graduates of tertiary institutions seemed to be badly hit by unemployment making up about 20 percent of youth unemployment between 2008-2012 and often remaining unemployed for upward of five years after graduation (NISER, 2013). Several factors have been blamed for the prevalence of youth unemployment in Nigeria. A major factor that has relevance to this conference is the observed decay and deficiency in school curricula which has resulted to the failure of educational institutions to provide students with appropriate skills to make them employable.