Research Article: 2018 Vol: 21 Issue: 1
Aja Sunday Nwambam, Ebonyi State University
Onoh Okwara Nnennaya, Ebonyi State University
Igwe Silas Nwankpu, Ebonyi State University
The study assessed the entrepreneurship education programme in Nigerian Universities as a means for guaranteeing sustainable development in Nigeria. The study was a survey research designed guided by four research questions. All the students in Ebonyi State University, (EBSU) Abakaliki and Federal University, Ndufu Alike Ikwo (FUNAI) were used for the study. Simple random sampling technique was used to select twenty (20) students each from the eight faculties in EBSU and same from five faculties in FUNAI giving a total of 260 respondents as the sample size. Researcher-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The data collected were analysed using mean scores. The findings of the study revealed that there are inadequate trained lecturers/instructors, instructional facilities/materials for teaching entrepreneurship education and the entrepreneurship curricular contents are relevant for sustainable development in Nigeria but does not fully equip students with adequate knowledge, resources and skills to establish on their own. Based on the findings, it was recommended that regular training and retraining of lecturers/instructors by the institutions authorities for competence in the teaching of entrepreneurship education, provision of requisite facilities and materials by the universities, government and individuals for instructional efficiency and effectiveness as this is critical to national development. Also government and private individuals and organisations should collaborate to provide necessary resources to university graduates in order to put the basic entrepreneurial skills they have acquired into practice.
Entrepreneurial Education, University Education, Graduate Employment, Sustainable National Development.
In Nigeria like many other developing countries, education has been adopted as an instrument par excellence for effecting national development. One of the goals in the national philosophy of education is based on the belief that education is to be qualitative, comprehensive, functional and relevant to the needs of the society (FRN, 2013). It is in pursuance of this overall national objective that entrepreneurship education was introduced into the Nigerian education system. Entrepreneurship education is gaining international national and local recognition as an established field of study, growing in parallel with the interest of policy makers and general students. It represents both academic education and formal training interventions that share broad objective of providing individuals with the entrepreneurial mind-set and skills to support participation and performance of school leavers and entire citizenry in a wide range of entrepreneurial activities.
University education though designed to provide academic, research and community services, it has also been expanded in the recent time to incorporate entrepreneurship education world over. In this sense, the dynamism of entrepreneurship education needs to be studied in order to provide useful insights for both theory and practice if its pedagogy. In this research, the idea of system dynamic approach in the study of phenomena as advocated by Farsi (2014) will be explored. The main thrust of this research is to examine how entrepreneurship education is been implemented in Nigerian universities for sustainable development.
Nigerian educational system was hitherto designed to produce a pool of graduates who depended on the government for employment. This is in contrast to a system that could equip its beneficiaries with entrepreneurial skills; making them self-reliant, self-confident and employers of labour. As a result of faulty educational system which failed to take cognizance of the dynamics of labour market, the system produced a large army of graduates who are confronted with unemployment. Even with its increasing emphasis on vocational education for acquisition of occupational skills and competencies, the unemployment rate has continued to soar. In order to contend with the soaring unemployment, the federal Government, in 1987 set up the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) which was charged with the following responsibilities:
• To reduce unemployment among youths and university graduates in the country by creating employment opportunities.
• To provide enabling atmosphere for self-reliance.
• To foster entrepreneurship.
• To encourage the culture of maintenance and repair.
As a way of making educational functional, technical and vocational education were introduced. The main purpose of technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is to provide skilled manpower in applied science, engineering, technology and commerce to operate, maintain and sustain the Nation’s economic activities for rapid economic development. TVET is designed to impart necessary skills and competencies leading to the production of craftsmen, technicians and technologies that will be enterprising and self-reliant, thus having the greatest potential to generate employment, reduce poverty and eliminate the “White Collar Job Syndrome”. Unfortunately, these objectives have, by far, not been realized due the long period of systemic neglect and discrimination of entrepreneurial education.
Whereas Nigerians are known as among the most enterprising people, entrepreneurial activities have been mainly in the hands of the private and large informal sector operators. The government’s initiative known as the Entrepreneurship Education Programme (EEP) aims is to inculcate in trainees the ability to:
• Identify and solve problems using critical and creative thinking.
• Work effectively with others as a proactive team member and cultivate the ability to resolve conflict.
• Organize and manage one-self and one’s activities.
• Collect, analyse, organize and critically evaluate information (to make decisions) that must be carried through.
• Communicate and negotiate effectively.
• Reflect on experiences and explore various strategies for effective learning…learning to learn at all times.
In spite of this development, it is rather sad that what is obtainable today in institutions of learning in Nigeria is still the bookish curriculum with less emphasis on practical entrepreneurial education even though the federal government of Nigeria has encouraged the introduction of the scheme in schools (Nwandiani, 2010) cited in Undie, Sule and Bassey (2012). The question is how is entrepreneurship education going to take off with the same caliber of teachers who have no form of entrepreneurial training at all? Will entrepreneurship Education commenced without entrepreneurial training centres? Can the existing facilities in the universities support the teaching and learning of entrepreneurship education? How suitable is the university entrepreneurship education curricula in providing necessary skills to graduates? The answers to these questions will help us appreciate the trend in this direction.
A cursory look at institutions with regards to entrepreneurship shows that there is no significant difference in approach to the teaching of entrepreneurial education. In fact it is taught like any other subjects, thus, affecting the desired result. Since the dawn of the 80’s and 90’s Nigeria as a nation has continued to witness astronomical increase in job search among youth and graduates. A work to major and capital cities in Nigeria will speak volumes in this respect. This is a clearer indication that the teaching of entrepreneurial education in schools leaves much to be desired.
The word Entrepreneur was first used in the 18th century by Richard Cantillon, an Irish who lived in France to mean a person who perceives business opportunities and take advantage of the scarce resources available (Edobor and Imade, 2013). The word entrepreneur is also traced to a French word entreprendre which means “to do something”. An entrepreneur is therefore a person who has the ability to create job for himself with a tolerance for the risk he believed was inherent in providing for one’s own economic well-being. That is why Egwu (2011) described an entrepreneur as a person who sees opportunity where others cannot, a visionary, a problem solver, a creative genius, wealth generator, an innovator and inventor and one who produces job for others.
On the other hand, entrepreneurship is the act of being an entrepreneur. It is in this regard that Diana cited in Edobor and Imade (2013) defined entrepreneurship as the process of searching out opportunities in the market place and arranging resources required to exploit these opportunities for life-long and long-term gains. Put simply, entrepreneurship is the ability and willingness to seek out investment opportunities and to run it as an enterprise for profit making.
Entrepreneurship is therefore regarded as the engine room for every country’s economic development because it is a sure way of generating employment opportunities, providing needed manpower for industrial development, marketing and market factor growth, capacity building on the citizenry and resource distribution which are necessary paraphernalia for sustainable development. The importance of entrepreneurship education in any developing country such as Nigeria needs not to be over-emphasized. This is because Nigeria like other developing countries is faced with high rate of graduate unemployment or underemployment as a result of poor trade liberalization and graduates’ inept ability for global competitive labour market. It is in line with this that Caston and Karlesson (2009) cited in Shamaki (2015) maintained that many developing countries have suffered from economic backwardness and high rate of school leavers and graduates unemployment as a result of their neglect of entrepreneurial education in their various school systems.
In this regard Gartner (2001) cited in Asooso, Agbidye and Aboho (2014) opined that entrepreneurship education is a must now because graduates are mass-produced every year without job opportunities or entrepreneurial skills for self-employment thereby leaving them with the only option of craving for white collar jobs which are not forthcoming and this has plunged the nation into the present condition of economic quagmire. Ayeni (2012) in his study observed that there was a significant relationship between transformation of students through acquisition of entrepreneurial skills and becoming employers of labour. This implies that entrepreneurial studies programme if well implemented in Nigerian universities will translate to making the graduates employers of labour as well as key into government efforts to diversify the economy for sustainable national development.
Nigeria government in her deliberate effort to address the ever increasing graduate unemployment and other social vices has through the National University Commission (NUC) directed all Nigerian universities to include entrepreneurship education in their academic programmes beginning from 2007/2008 academic year. In response to this directive, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki and Federal University, Ndufu Alike Ikwo started offering entrepreneurial studies compulsory to all undergraduates as General Studies (GST).
Entrepreneurship education and studies are very important measures for meeting the national development goals and achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) programme of the federal government of Nigeria. This is rooted on the expectation that university education should make optimum contribution to national development by…making entrepreneurial skills acquisition a requirement for all Nigerian universities (Federal Republic of Nigeria FRN, 2013:55). Therefore, tertiary education curricular development should be geared towards producing people that will align with the world of work, create trades and mercantilism, create labour and employment, build skills and boost innovative drives with inherent intent in production of goods and services for the nation’s economic diversification (Onyene, 2014). From the foregoing, it is obvious that Nigeria is looking forward to promoting education for entrepreneurship at all levels from primary through secondary to tertiary education to discourage the over dependence on oil as the sole mover of the economy. Osalor (2009) in Asooso, Agbidye and Aboho (2014) noted that the over reliance of Nigeria’s economy on oil proceeds has led to unemployment and underemployment of our youths; therefore the economy needs to be diversified through the introduction of entrepreneurship education at all levels of the education system for the realization of the vision 20:2020.
Entrepreneurship education the world over seeks to prepare students especially youths to be responsible, enterprising individuals who become entrepreneurs and who contribute to economic growth of self-community and nation at large. Entrepreneurship is necessary for sustainable national development in a given society since it encourages creativity, innovation and fostering a business oriented culture among youths. Development entails evolving a wider range of products, goods, services skills, etc., in order to be more successful or reduce risk which are adequately captured in objectives of entrepreneurship education in Nigeria and the world at large. Development as it pertains to a nation is a gradual growth in its economic, social and political process so that it becomes more advanced, better and stronger. Seya (2005) in Zuofa (2011) describes development as a process of economic, social, political and cultural change engineered in a given society by the efforts of all stakeholders with a view to improving the conditions of life of the population in a sustainable way. In the context of this paper, development is seen as a positive change in pattern of life which could enhance people’s active participation in social, economic, political, cultural and other aspects of societal life for sustainability. The change emphasised here could be attained through access to appropriate type of education for all individuals. It is against this backdrop that entrepreneurship education was introduced at all levels of the education system in Nigeria since it is considered relevant for providing students with necessary skills that will enable them participate in the development of self and the society. The objectives of entrepreneurship education according to Mbiewa (2011) include to:
• Provide graduates with necessary skills that will make them to be creative.
• Provide small and medium size companies with the opportunity to recruit graduates who possess relevant skills to manage business enterprises.
• Provide the graduates with enough training skills that will enable them meet manpower needs of the society.
• Provide graduates with enough training in risk management due to uncertain business environment.
• Stimulate industrial and economic growth of rural and less developed areas (p. 22).
In the same vein, Jimah and Unigbokhia (2011) in Adenike (2016) identified the objectives of entrepreneurship education as to:
• Offer functional education for youths that will enable them to be self-employed and self-reliant.
• Provide the graduate youths with adequate training that will enable them to be creative and innovative in identifying novel business opportunities.
• Serve as a catalyst for economic growth and development.
• Reduce high rate of unemployment, underemployment and poverty among graduate youths.
• Reduce the rural-urban migration of graduate youths.
• Provide the graduate youths with enough training and support that will enable them to establish a career in small and medium scale businesses (p. 210).
A close look at the objectives of entrepreneurship education as presented above shows that they are all encompassing and its curricular content expected to be infused into the core courses the students undertake in the course of their programme of studies. In another development, due to the novel nature of entrepreneurial studies programme in the Nigeria universities; there is need to train or retrain the lecturers who will teach the new programme of studies so that these laudable objectives could be achieved. Shamaki (2015) citing the European Commission (2011) report on the challenges of entrepreneurship education which shows that teachers need to be equipped with the right skills, knowledge and attitudes to be able to provide students with the new curricular, pedagogy and learning environment that they will need if they are to acquire entrepreneurial competences. Iloputaife, Onoh and Nnadi (2011) affirming this observed that inadequacy of qualified entrepreneurship trainers or teachers to develop the right contents in our school curriculum poses serious challenge to the implementation of the newly introduced entrepreneurial studies programme especially at the tertiary education levels. Also at the 9th convocation ceremony of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka in 2011, the then President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria represented by the former Hon. Minister of Education, Prof. Riqayyatu Rufai’ reiterated government’s intention of making entrepreneurial studies become a degree course in Nigeria Universities soon. Similarly, Nwekeaku (2013) noted that though many universities have embraced the entrepreneurship education, there is yet no fundamental change in the teaching and learning process of entrepreneurship education. He also observed that most lecturers have not acquired new and special skills, the teaching methodology has not changed from the old system, adequate and appropriate equipment and facilities are yet to be procured and the value system which favours certificate acquisition in preference to practical demonstration and ability is still in vogue despite the commencement of the programme since 2007/2008 academic session in all the universities in Nigeria. This is a clear indication that entrepreneurship education is yet to be fully implemented in Nigeria universities.
Development has been conceptualized as a process of systematic transformation of the overall social, economic, political, scientific and technological life of a nation through effective, well-co-ordinated management system, result-oriented social mobilization strategy in which the citizens actually participate and exhibit positive attitudinal commitment in the overall reconstruction process for the improved living condition of the people. Thom-Otuya & Inko-tariah (2016) described national development as the ability of a country to mobilize resources to improve the social welfare of the people by providing social amenities. According to the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) in Ilechukwu, Njoku & Ugwuozor (2014), development is sustainable if it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This implies that sustainable development enables people to develop knowledge, values and skills to participate in decisions about the ways they do things individually and collectively, locally or globally, that will improve their quality of life now without damaging the planet earth of the future. It is in this regard that the Food and Agricultural Organisation (1988) in Okwelle and Ayomike (2014) stated, that sustainable development is the management and conservation of the natural resources base and the orientation of technological and institutional change in such a manner as to ensure the attainment and continued satisfaction of human needs for present and future generation. It is the exploitation and improvements in all aspects of human existence for the continued satisfaction of mankind both today and tomorrow. This can always be tenable through functional secondary school education.
The United Nations declared a Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) to promote the local and global acceptance of principles of "sustainable development". But what is Education for Sustainable Development, also referred to as Education for Sustainability? The 21st century calls upon us to prepare students to be active citizens in a complex and ever changing world. Education for Sustainability is a framework that can be used to engage students in all subjects by using the real-world context of the complex interconnections between the creation of vibrant communities, strong economies and healthy ecosystems, both locally and globally. It provides useful context for instruction in all areas, including social studies, language arts, math and science and promotes the development of important 21st century skills such as entrepreneurial skills, critical and creative thinking, systems thinking, collaboration and communication. It is on this premise that this study on the appraisal of university entrepreneurship education programmes for sustainable development in Nigeria becomes imperative for global competitiveness.
Entrepreneurship education was advocated to be introduced at all levels of the education systems in Nigeria to help address the increasing rate of youth and graduate unemployment, over dependence on white collar jobs, dwindling economic growth and improvement in the overall national development. This is because it is envisaged that entrepreneurial skills students acquire through entrepreneurship education will help make graduates to be creative, innovative and self-reliant. Despite the laudable objectives of entrepreneurial education programmes in the entire education system, a close look at the current state of affairs in Nigerian education system still show that the type of education given to students still lay emphasis on the conventional core academic areas with much reverence to certificates for graduates, who in most cases are trained to be job seekers rather than job providers. It is in light of the above that the problem of this study is posed in a question form thus; what is the readiness of the entrepreneurial studies undertaken by universities students for sustainable national development in Nigeria.
The primary purpose of the study is to find out the adequacy of educational resources for entrepreneurship education and the suitability of its curricula content in inculcating the necessary enterprise skills required by university graduates for sustainable development in Nigeria
The study set to achieve its purpose by answering the following research questions:
• What is the adequacy of trained teachers for entrepreneurship education in Nigeria universities?
• What is the adequacy of facilities/equipment for entrepreneurship education in Nigeria universities?
• What is the adequacy of instructional materials for entrepreneurship education in Nigeria universities?
• How is the curriculum content of universities’ entrepreneurship education relevant for sustainable development in Nigeria?
The study was a survey research designed to assess how entrepreneurship education in universities is been implemented for sustainable development in Nigeria. The population of the study comprised all the students in Ebonyi State University (EBSU), Abakaliki and Federal University Ndufu Alike Ikwo (FUNAI) all in Ebonyi State of Nigeria. Simple random sampling technique was used to select twenty (20) students each from eight (8) faculties in EBSU and five faculties in FUNAI giving a total of two hundred and sixty (260) respondents as the sample size. Researcher-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The instrument has two parts (1 and 2). Part one contained the personal data of the respondents while part two contained a twenty-item questionnaire patterned on a 4-point rating scale to elicit responses from respondents. The response options are rated thus: Strongly Agree (SA)-4 points, Agree (A)-3 points, Disagree (D)-2 points and Strongly Disagree (SD)-1 point. Decision rule was achieved using the mean of the points thus: 4+3+2+1 ÷ 4=2.5, which therefore was the criterion reference point at which to accept or reject an item as agrees or disagrees.
The instrument was validated by three experts-one from Educational Foundations, one from Business Education and one from Science Education in Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki. The internal consistency of the instrument was determined through test re-test method. The reliability estimate of 0.82 was obtained with SPSS software. The score was high enough to consider the instrument suitable for the study. The copies of the questionnaire were administered to the respondents with the help of two research assistants and collected same after completion. The data collected were analysed using mean scores.
Research Question One
What is the adequacy of trained teachers for entrepreneurship education in Nigeria universities?
Result of data analysis in Table 1 shows that the respondents disagree with items 1-4 but agreed with only item 5. This means that teachers with requisite training are not adequate for the teaching of entrepreneurial studies in universities. However the available ones perform their official duties by going to entrepreneurial education/studies classes.
| Table 1 Mean Rating of Respondents on the Adequacy of Trained Teachers for Entrepreneurship Education in Nigeria Universities |
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| S/N | Item Statement | SA | A | D | SD | N | FX | X | DECISION |
| 1 | Teachers are adequate to teach entrepreneurial studies/education | 50 | 60 | 80 | 70 | 260 | 610 | 2.35 | Disagree |
| 2 | Specialists teach entrepreneurial studies/education | 45 | 60 | 75 | 80 | 260 | 590 | 2.27 | Disagree |
| 3 | Teachers have good knowledge of the subject matter of the entrepreneurial education/studies | 40 | 50 | 80 | 90 | 260 | 560 | 2.15 | Disagree |
| 4 | Teachers deliver the lesson appropriately in line with the entrepreneurial studies curriculum contents | 30 | 40 | 110 | 80 | 260 | 540 | 2.07 | Disagree |
| 5 | Teachers attend entrepreneurial studies classes as at when due | 60 | 80 | 70 | 50 | 260 | 670 | 2.58 | Agree |
| Grand mean | 2.35 | ||||||||
Research Question Two
What is the adequacy of facilities/equipment for entrepreneurship education in Nigeria universities?
Data in Table 2 revealed that the respondents disagreed with the entire item 6-10. This implies that the facilities/equipment available in universities is grossly inadequate for the teaching of entrepreneurial studies as shown by the grand mean score of 2.07.
| Table 2 Mean Rating of Respondents on the Adequacy of Facilities/Equipment for Entrepreneurship Education in Nigeria Universities |
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| S/N | Item Statement | SA | A | D | SD | N | FX | X | DECISION |
| 6 | The classrooms are adequate for Teaching and learning of entrepreneurial studies | 45 | 60 | 75 | 80 | 260 | 590 | 2.27 | Disagree |
| 7 | The classroom has public address system for teaching and learning of entrepreneurial studies | 40 | 50 | 80 | 90 | 260 | 560 | 2.15 | Disagree |
| 8 | Practical entrepreneurial studies are carried out in the laboratories/workshops | 25 | 30 | 125 | 80 | 260 | 520 | 2 | Disagree |
| 9 | The laboratories/workshops are adequately equipped | 30 | 40 | 100 | 90 | 260 | 530 | 2.03 | Disagree |
| 10 | There are uninterrupted power supply during entrepreneurial studies/education classes | 20 | 30 | 120 | 90 | 260 | 500 | 1.92 | Disagree |
| Grand mean | 2.07 | ||||||||
Research Question Three
What is the adequacy of instructional materials for entrepreneurship education in Nigeria universities?
The result of data analysis in Table 3 indicates that the respondents disagreed with items 11, 12, 13 and 15 but agreed with item 14. This implies that instructional materials available in the universities are not adequate for teaching and learning of entrepreneurial studies rather, students resort to internet for access to instructional materials which may be expensive and time consuming for an average student.
| Table 3 Mean Rating of Respondents on the Adequacy of Instructional Materials for Entrepreneurship Education in Nigeria Universities |
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| S/N | Item Statement | SA | A | D | SD | N | FX | X | DECISION |
| 11 | The available adequate for studies | 25 | 30 | 125 | 80 | 260 | 520 | 2 | Disagree |
| 12 | Entrepreneurial education/studies textbooks are accessible to students | 50 | 60 | 80 | 70 | 260 | 610 | 2.35 | Disagree |
| 13 | Library provides necessary textbooks for entrepreneurial studies to students | 30 | 40 | 110 | 80 | 260 | 540 | 2.07 | Disagree |
| 14 | Students get most of the materials for entrepreneurial studies through internet | 70 | 80 | 60 | 50 | 260 | 690 | 2.65 | Agree |
| 15 | Teachers improvise instructional materials for entrepreneurial studies | 40 | 50 | 70 | 100 | 260 | 510 | 1.96 | Disagree |
| Grand mean | 2.21 | ||||||||
Research question four
How is the universities’ entrepreneurship education curriculum content relevant to sustainable development in Nigeria?
The result of data analysed in Table 4 shows that the respondents agreed with item 16 but disagreed with items 17-20. This means that the universities entrepreneurship education curriculum contents are relevant for sustainable development in Nigeria but does not prepare students adequately to establish on their own. This is evident from the grand mean score of 2.23 as shown in the table.
| Table 4 Mean Rating of Respondents on the Relevance of Entrepreneurship Education Curriculum Contents Sustainable Development in Nigeria. |
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| S/N | Item Statement | SA | A | D | SD | N | FX | X | Decision |
| 16 | The curricular contents of the entrepreneurial studies relevant for sustainable development in Nigeria | 70 | 80 | 60 | 50 | 260 | 690 | 2.65 | Agree |
| 17 | Entrepreneurial skills acquired through entrepreneurial studies will help in establishing personal business outfits | 25 | 30 | 85 | 120 | 260 | 480 | 1.85 | Disagree |
| 18 | The knowledge acquired through entrepreneurial studies is enough for students to put into practice the vocation or trades learnt. | 50 | 60 | 80 | 70 | 260 | 610 | 2.35 | Disagree |
| 19 | Students are satisfied with the skills, aptitudes and capacities provided to them through entrepreneurial studies/education | 20 | 30 | 120 | 90 | 260 | 500 | 1.92 | Disagree |
| 20 | Entrepreneurship studies are helpful in students area of specialization | 55 | 60 | 75 | 70 | 260 | 620 | 2.38 | Disagree |
| Grand mean | 2.23 | ||||||||
The findings of research question one show that trained teachers for teaching of entrepreneurial studies are not adequate in the universities. This finding is in tandem with Olorundare and Kayode (2014) who observed that inadequate trainers or little knowledge of entrepreneurship by universities’ lecturers is a major challenge to university entrepreneurship education in Nigeria. Adenike (2016); Chinonye and Akinbode (2014) also noted that insufficient skilled manpower is a serious challenge to entrepreneurship education in Nigerian universities.
The findings of research question two indicate that facilities/equipment available in the universities is grossly inadequate for the teaching and learning of entrepreneurial studies.
Corroborating the above findings, Proshare (2016) maintained that the Nigerian infrastructure limits the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education in universities. Undie and Bassey (2012) also observed that laboratories, workshops and facilities are in poor state in many Nigerian universities. They posit that infrastructural decay and obsolescence of equipment in the face of students’ population explosion and shortage of academic staff among others are the challenges of entrepreneurship education in Nigerian tertiary institutions.
The findings of research question three reveal that instructional materials for teaching and learning of entrepreneurial studies in the universities are not adequate. This is in line with Utim (2013) finding that there are absence of relevant textbooks and other instructional materials for the teaching and learning of entrepreneurial education in Nigerian universities. This according to him was attributed to hasty introduction of the programme into the university education programme without laying strong foundations at the primary and secondary schools levels.
The findings of research question four shows that the universities entrepreneurship education curriculum contents are relevant for sustainable development in Nigeria but do not equip students with adequate knowledge and skills to be self-employed. Although, Okoro (2012) observed that entrepreneurship curriculum contents influence students’ entrepreneurial spirit, Olokundun, Falola, Ibidunni and Inelo (2014) noted that schools cover the required content but the method of teaching entrepreneurship programme was not practical oriented hence was void of real life situations. This collaborated the findings of this present study was in line with the Oyebola, Irefin and Olaposi (2015) where they observed that there was no significant relationship between venture creation and content of entrepreneurship lectures received by students because entrepreneurship education delivered in Nigerian universities is good for theoretical knowledge. They posit that government through its appropriate agents still need to do more in providing enabling environment and other factors that may be needed to translate the theoretical knowledge to practical venture creation. It is only when this is done that the objective of entrepreneurship studies programme in universities could be achieved for sustainable development in Nigeria.
The introduction of entrepreneurship education in Nigerian universities is a right step towards curbing graduate unemployment and guaranteeing sustainable development. Although, entrepreneurship education is a welcome development in the country’s bid for economic diversification but its implementation especially at the tertiary education level is still fraught with many challenges ranging from inadequate skilled manpower, poor state of infrastructural facilities, inadequate instructional materials/curricular contents to pedagogical methodology which consequently has impaired its objectives.
To this end, this study recommended that government through her appropriate agencies should take a comprehensive review of the entrepreneurship curriculum; including the right method to be adopted for teaching entrepreneurship education. Determine the right place in terms of adequate facilities, equipment and materials for teaching entrepreneurship education.
Determine who teach entrepreneurship education by developing staff and teachers to be entrepreneurial in their teaching approach/strategies; and determine the outcome of entrepreneurship education among students through internships and establishment of entrepreneurial centres for practical acquisition of skills by students. Nevertheless, the curricula contents of entrepreneurship education/studies in our universities should be encouraged since the respondents found it adequate. These will go a long way in actualizing the objectives of entrepreneurship studies programme in universities for sustainable development.