OPTIMIZING ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES AS A PANACEA FOR THE CRISIS OF GRADUATE UNEMPLOYMENT

Abstract

Graduate unemployment is one of the major economic crises facing the Nigerian state. The malaise has been exacerbated by the recent descent into economic recession. This paper x-rays, theoretically and empirically, the level of entrepreneurship education acquired in Nigerian universities, the strategies
adopted and presents suggestions on how entrepreneurship education can be primed to serve as panacea for the graduate unemployment crisis . The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. The population consisted of 550 2014/2015 Business Education graduates of three state universities offering
business education programme in south west geo-political zone of Nigeria (Ekiti state University, Ado-Ekiti, Olabisi Onabanjo University Ago-iwoye Ogun state and Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijebu-Ode Ogun State). No sample was drawn; the entire population was studied. The instrument was a structured questionnaire, subjected to face and content validation by experts in entrepreneurship education and measurement and evaluation. The test for reliability yielded reliability co-efficient of 0.88 using Kuder Richdson formular. The findings revealed that most Business Education programmes offer
only theoretical aspects of entrepreneurship, to the neglect of the practical aspects. The study also identified strategies which can enhance entrepreneurship education’s potentialities as an instrument of employment generation. The study recommended that experimental learning, involving case studies and simulation exercises, should be embedded into the entrepreneurship education curricula if the programme is to achieve its objective of alleviating unemployment and accelerating national development.

KEYWORDS: Entrepreneurship educations, national development, Nigerian universities, graduate unemployment.