Entrepreneurship Development Programme in Higher Education: A Nigerian Perspective

Entrepreneurship education serves as a panacea to social economic problems. The present situation in Nigeria posed serious threats and challenges to both government and well-meaning citizens. These socio-economic problems call for different strategies and action for it to be ameliorated. Entrepreneurship education has been embraced by almost all the developed countries and its capabilities and efficacy in springing up economies is not in doubt. It is believed that refocusing education system will immensely contribute to developing the spirit and culture of entrepreneurship in country. The methodology here involves review of the current situation especially existing education policies and highlights the need for departure by studying some models that can be applied. It was discovered that the current education system is deficient in providing the necessary impetus for development. It also finds out that same problems keep escalating despite various efforts by the government to review policies and programmes in the past. The uniqueness of the paper is providing entrepreneurship education framework as an explanation of what and how it should be rather than what it is. It also challenges policy makers on the need to refocus their policies in problem solving rather than maintaining the status quo.

Entrepreneurship development through education has been receiving attention globally. Several attempts have been made through research, mounting of entrepreneurship courses, programmes in both institutions of learning and entrepreneurship research centers for the purpose of developing both entrepreneurship spirit and culture (Akpomi 2009; Adejimola and Olufunmilayo 2009; the need apparent change is very desirable and necessary for the country to move to forge to ahead and to meet up with the global challenges. The integration of economies through globalization process any government or state that hesitates or vacillates on whether to imbibe the culture of change will certainly create standstill not only at the detriment of its country but to the larger global community.

The incidence of Poverty in Nigeria is on the high side, where 70% of the total population has been classified as poor (Nigeria entrepreneurship initiative, 2009; Ewhrudjakpor, 2008) This rate of poverty is however accentuated by the increasing rate of unemployment, high level of illiteracy, corruption and bad governance among others. Therefore, as a panacea to this problem, entrepreneurship has been identified as a means of providing employment and income generation in the country.

The problem of unemployment is particularly pathetic as the number of those coming out from various institutions looking for employment opportunity is increasing day by day. The situation in Nigeria is of such concern that hundreds of unemployed university graduates mounted a demonstration in front of the presidential offices to express their concern. They demanded that government provide them with jobs for them to cater for their essential needs of life (Dabalen, Oni and Adekola 2000).

It is pertinent to note that education can be a means to an end. It can simply be a tool for securing employment and emancipation of people through the provision and acquiring of necessary knowledge and skills to make lives more flourishing. The objective of this paper is to emphasize the need and importance of entrepreneurship education, which will serve as a panacea to some social economic problems.

Nigeria Educational Policy and Entrepreneurship

The history of Nigeria education system could be traced back to the colonial period, the educational policy then was geared toward serving the interest of the colonial masters in term of supply of manpower for their effective administration of Nigeria colony and protectorates (Aladekomo, 2004).

The policy was aimed at producing Nigerians who can read and write to hold certain positions such as clerks, interpreters, and inspectors’ est. without any entrepreneurial or professional skill to stand on their own or even establish and manage their own venture. The Nigeria industrial policy that came immediately after independence place emphasis and concentrated attention on the establishment of big companies by completely neglecting the development of small-scale sectors (Aladekomo, 2004). This neglect invariably means killing entrepreneurship at the micro level in Nigeria at the very beginning, which is a very essential for economic growth and development. The over pressing demand for while collar job for majority of graduates is just an upshot of colonial educational policies.

However, later in the mid-70s the government because of perceived importance of small-scale industries to the economy decides to focus attention on small and medium sector. Thirteen industrial centers and some institutions were set up to support the activities entrepreneurs in the small and median industries in the country. Institutions set up were Nigeria Industrial Bank (NIB), Nigeria Bank for Commerce and Industries (NBCI), Nigeria Agricultural and Cooperative Bank (NACB) etc. In the 1981 National policy of education attempt has been made by the government to link the policy with the issue of self-employment and the industrial policy. But then, the focus was only focus on primary and secondary schools only. The Higher education policy was deficient in the sense that it failed to take issue of self-employment at tertiary level.

The Higher education policy was mainly concerned with the development both higher and middle manpower. Thus, higher education policy as stipulated is expectedly to cater for production scientist and technologist and absolutely none was directed for self-employment but for the vacant positions in government or public offices. (Aladekomo, 2004). To ascertain the way forward and in response to the current socio-economic problems of the country as earlier mentioned, questions were raised by various people as to what is the right education for Nigeria and what kind of education may be suitable in propelling development in the country? so many suggestions were made in favour of refocusing the current Nigeria’s education system to reflect the present realities. It would be recalled that in Nigeria, technical and vocational education has received a lot of attention at both state and federal levels. Different institutions were established to offer technical education. These include technical colleges, polytechnics, colleges of technical education, vocational centers, and schools etc. The National Policy on Education of 2004 described technical education as “aspect of education which leads to the acquisition of practical and applied skills as well as basic scientific knowledge”. The technical education aims at:

• Providing trained manpower in applied science, technology, and commerce, particularly at sub-professional grades
• Providing the technical knowledge and vocational skills necessary for agricultural, industrial, commercial, and economic development
• Providing people who can apply scientific knowledge to the improvement and solution of environmental problems for the use and convenience of man
• Introducing professional studies in engineering and other technology
• Giving training and impact the necessary skills leading to the production of craftsmen, technicians and other skilled personnel who will be enterprising and self-reliant
• Enabling young men and women to have an intelligent understanding of the increasing complexity of technology.

Technical and vocational institutions were designed largely to prepare technicians at occupational levels. Fakae (2005) asserted that “emphasis is on skill-acquisition and sound scientific knowledge, which gives ability to the use of hand and machine for the purpose of production, maintenance and self-reliant”. Despite these well-articulated policies, the problem remains very conspicuous.

The Nigeria government is very worried on the increasing unemployment rate, poverty, and generally bad economic condition in the country. Different scholars are of the opinion that vocational and technical education cannot provide the necessary remedy to the problem of unemployment. Urwick, 1992 in Onifade (2002) has revealed that vocational education has not and cannot provide permanent solution to unemployment as some of us may believe. Ojukwu, 1999 in Onifade (2002) observed that “the threat of job scarcity and growing unemployment creates doubts and pessimism on the programmes of vocational technical schools and the education system in general”. Adamu (2008) asserted that the Nigeria University education, patterned after the “gold standard” of British colonial universities remains the highway to white collar jobs and social security for millions of Nigerians. Immediately after independence in 1960 from Britain several questions were raised on whether the country is to retain that legacy or open and gradually evolve a new distinct character of its own.

Although some modification has been made with time to reflect changing demand, little or no achievement has been recorded in ameliorating the diverse socio-economic problems in the country. In recent time, the most visible education reform in the country is on higher education. Under this kind of reform Vocational Enterprise Institutions (VEIs) and Innovation Enterprise Institutions (IEIs) were introduced by the government to provide another dimension for higher education in the country. VEIs and IEIs are principally private institutions that will offer vocational ,technical, technology or professional education and other skills-based, training at post basic (VEIs) and post-secondary (IEIs), to equip our youth and working adults employment skill and knowledge to meet the increasing demand for technical manpower by various sectors of the nation’s economy(Muhd, 2008).

In another development, effort is geared toward given science and technology preference over non science and humanities. The revisit of 70:30 science/Art policy in the polytechnic sector creates a lot of question that requires critical analysis. In fact, the belief of the policy makers was that having more science/technology-based ratio could be a panacea to socio- economic problem of the country. This situation creates discomfort and feeling of inferiority on part those studying Art and humanities especially in the polytechnic sector in which many people vehemently opposed to this development. According to Onukaogu (2008) “There is absolutely nothing wrong with a very well set out plan by the govt. to encourage the Nigerian child to pursue science subjects. What is obnoxious is the impression we give to our children that science is superior to arts and that art and humanities centered Nigerian pupils are inferior. It is not true that once all Nigerians become scientists, we arrive at our Eldorado.”

In another development, Ojukwu 1999 in Onifade (2002) pointed out that commonwealth Minister of Education in August 1988 and the Commonwealth Association of Polytechnics in Africa (CAPA) in 1991 opined that student in tertiary institutions should be taught entrepreneurship education in their final sessions. The criticism continued in same manner that many graduates came out from university with the expectation to work for others not for themselves. Because of the unprecedented increasing number graduates without corresponding vacancies, the felt that entrepreneurship education is very necessary to make this large-scale number of graduates self-reliant.

It is believed that the current formal education is only aimed at making people to be the same despite the differences in them. This fact has been corroborated by Ingalla (1976); “It is becoming increasingly clear that formal schooling in our society generally aims at creating sameness and not difference. The members of class, for example, are graded based on how well they each acquire the same information presented in same way to all. While this process appears necessary to produce doctors, engineers, lawyers, teachers, and so forth, it does not necessarily produce individual who are different. In other word, it produces a person who can fill social and work roles, which is obviously important, but it does not tend to produce individuals who can transform society itself”. However, several macro and institutional factors were identified as affecting vocational development in the country. Some of these factors are social membership, home influences, institution attended, community, pressure groups, role perception etc.

However, with the growing number of students coming out from various institutions into labour market, if some measures are not taken there is every tendency that the situation escalate the rate poverty and corruption and other social crime especially among youth. Hence it is hoped that in the first place, the government should encourage a diversification of the economy through adequate support for private establishments and practical acquisition of skills in all higher institutions. It is against this backdrop that the need to redefine and refocus the current system of education with a view to creating and enhancing the supply of entrepreneurship Initiatives and activities (Akpomi 2008; Adejimola and Olunfunmilayo, 2009). It is expected that our educational institutions will become centers for inculcating the spirit of entrepreneurship rather than the spirit of passing exam to get white collar job. The best way to do this is to create a curriculum that is all encompassing in developing that spirit and culture of entrepreneurship in the youth through educational programmes in universities and other institutions of higher learning.

Entrepreneurial Education and National Development

The need of education in the developmental effort of any nation cannot be underestimated. The development of educational sector is sine-qua non for the development in all other sectors. Adamu 2001 in Barnabas and Durkwa (2007) asserted that “development in any society is anchored primarily to education process”. Sule (2004) is of the opinion that education is a sure pathway to liberation of the mind and the improvement of socio-economic status of people. It also follows that education and training help individuals to be empowered and escape poverty by providing them with the skills and knowledge to raise their output, income, and wealth (Aliu, 2007). In the light of the above stated facts, various government and international agencies are making serious effort in both developed and underdeveloped to optimally develop the education Sector. Although, several achievements have been recorded in this regard, yet a lot of effort is needed to meet up with the ever-increasing demands of the present and of course the future challenges.

The millennium development goals coupled with the pressure of globalization therefore create new challenges for countries, especially, the underdeveloped ones to refocus their attention in dealing with this myriad socio-economic problem. It is disheartening when looking at deteriorating position of Nigeria, despite its great natural wealth the country is poor and social development is limited. If present trend continues the country is not likely to meet the millennium development goals (National Planning Commission, 2004). National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) recognized that income poverty has many strands and must therefore be tackled from several and different ways at once. Sustainable development must be pursued to cater for the subsisting socio economic and environmental challenges to development. According to Essien (2004), “sustainable development has to do with meeting the needs of the present generation without denying future generation access to the same natural resources for their own needs”.

The development here is appraised in terms of both redistribution of wealth and meeting the basic needs of the masses at sustainable level. This means that it must be sustained to be able to impact and change the life and living of the masses (Kazaure and Danmallam, 2006). While acknowledging the necessity and important role of school in shaping our culture, we have equally understood the fact that a serious departure is needed from hitherto traditional way of doing things especially the manner of training and method teaching in all our schools.

The term entrepreneurship means different things to different people and with varying conceptual perspectives. However, it is important to know that despite these differences, there are some common aspects such as risk taking, creativity, independence, and rewards. Therefore, the question here is how we harness, inculcate and develop the entrepreneurial career of the younger generations and also improve them potentially toward entrepreneurial skills which will consequently foster economic growth and development.

This model tries to identify the need to incorporate entrepreneurial education in order to ameliorate the persistent socio-economic problem especially unemployment among youth and high incidence of poverty in the country. The need for entrepreneurship education must be up -hold by the society and calls for reorientation among students and their teachers. This will ensure debunking and unlearning the earlier belief of been employed rather than self-employment after schooling. The government is expected to play a greater role in providing the necessary atmosphere and policy framework for the success of this transformation process. Students while in school will acquire the necessary skills and training, identify an opportunity to exploit and eventual creation of their venture.

The aggregation of individual efforts and emergent large number of businesses will promote the economic growth and development in the country and consequently reduction socio-economic challenges as mentioned earlier in this paper. Vincett and Farlow (2008) in their research work identified and suggested some tasks of educators involve in entrepreneurship training and this will go a long way in explaining and clarifying the above-mentioned framework, namely;

• Student must have a serious business idea: They are of the opinion that good ideas cannot be invented to order. Normally students were asked to produce a business plan and their assessment is basically rest on that. Therefore, they are urging to provide a realistic guided experience of the entrepreneurial life, which can be done if students are truly committed to their own real ideas and can be entrepreneurs not pretending to be so during their course.
• A formal business plan is not required but planning itself is important: Honing (2004), Spors (2007) in Vincett and Farlow (2008) have argued on the position of business plan. They raised a question on whether formal business plan correlate with business success. According to them “it may even be counterproductive, time consuming and perhaps psychologically diminishing flexibility in the early state of the actual operations”.
• Insist on extensive, direct student contact with outside community, to validate and optimize the ideas: This explains the need for students to learn in an uncontrolled environment which is far from institutional context through relationship with stakeholders (customer, suppliers, and competitors). The students can modify their ideas based on their direct experience outside the university or institution. It is the duty of the educator to make sure that students established contact with outsiders.

The number of businesses is limited to allow a highly interactive environment:
Classroom environment is identified as a key complement of student entrepreneurial workshop. The bulk of classroom time is devoted to students discussing their experiences. It allows free flow of business ideas with diverse concept and experience. It also provides an opportunity for the student to experience the creative intuitive and lateral thinking from various people. There was limited research in this aspect of selection of entrepreneurship, but since 1985, there has been an increased interest in entrepreneurial careers in education. (Hisrich, Peter and Shepherd, 2007). the world is moving from a natural resource-based economy to a knowledge-based economy.
National Economic and Social trends, show frequent changes in demand for different classes of goods and services, and for different types of skills and knowledge in such a way that education need to easily adapt to the evolving scientific, technological, and socio-economic changes (Aliu 2007). It is observed that the key to transforming Nigeria’s strong natural resources advantage is the creation of an appropriate human resource space through education. This appropriate human capital or resource space is the ideal educational environment for producing individuals with a mindset of self-reliant, creativity and high productivity ready to cope with the 21st century world of work (Aliu, 2007).

The lack of a sizable and vigorous entrepreneurial class, ready to and willing to accumulate capital and initiate production, indicates that in some developing countries (DVCs), private enterprise is not capable of spearheading the growth process of their countries. Perhaps the Government may have to take the lead, at least at first so that other will follow suit (McConnell and Brue, 2002).

Sagagi (2007) stated that “fostering an environment that encourages entrepreneurs to invest in technology and new activities is critical to the required economic growth in Nigeria. The task ahead is not the sole domain of the federal government. Entrepreneurship educators/trainers could significantly contribute to the change process”. The government can only perform its economic function by making sure that the rate of unemployment in the country is drastically reduced but that cannot be achieved through providing employment to all or teeming number of all employable into its institutions or agencies. Developing entrepreneurship has been identified as a means of providing employment and powerful weapon of fighting poverty in the country.

As such schools should be seen not only centers for knowledge creation and acquisition but also centers for human empowerment and development through entrepreneurial skill acquisition and training. This will greatly assist in changing the psyche of our students from studying, get certificate and work, but instead prospective student should think of coming to school acquire entrepreneurial skill and work for themselves. For this to be realistic our curriculum in schools at all levels has to be reviewed and also the manner and teaching approach must be change. There is need for complete change in approach in the education sector particularly in our policy direction and decision-making process, which will pave way for a more realistic and attainable result.

The Importance of Entrepreneurship Education to Nigerian Society

Entrepreneurship is a key driver of our economy. Wealth and a high majority of jobs are created by small businesses started by entrepreneurially minded individuals, many of whom go on to create big businesses. People exposed to entrepreneurship frequently express that they have more opportunity to exercise creative freedoms, higher self-esteem, and an overall greater sense of control over their own lives. As a result, many experienced businesspeople political leaders, economists, and educators believe that fostering a robust entrepreneurial culture will maximize individual and collective economic and social success on a local, national, and global scale. It is with this in mind that the National Standards for Entrepreneurship Education were developed: to prepare youth and adults to succeed in an entrepreneurial economy.

Entrepreneurship education is a lifelong learning process, starting as early as elementary school and progressing through all levels of education, including adult education. The Standards and their supporting Performance Indicators are a framework for teachers to use in building appropriate objectives, learning activities, and assessments for their target audience. Using this framework, students will have progressively more challenging educational activities; experiences that will enable them to develop the insight needed to discover and create entrepreneurial opportunities; and the expertise to successfully start and manage their own businesses to take advantage of these opportunities.

The importance of entrepreneurship to any economy is like that of entrepreneurship in any community. Entrepreneurial activity and the resultant financial gain are always of benefit to a country. If you have entrepreneurial skills then you will recognize a genuine opportunity when you come across one. WSI has franchise opportunities available globally for the all-inclusive fee of $49,700. The company, who has been awarded the accolade of being rated the Number 1 Internet Consultancy business for six consecutive years, has franchisees operating in 87 countries worldwide. Because a WSI consulting business

Entrepreneurship Education focuses on developing understanding and capacity for pursuit, of entrepreneurial behaviours, skills, and attributes in widely different contexts. It can be portrayed as open to all and not exclusively the domain of the high-flying growth-seeking businessperson. The propensity to behave entrepreneurial is not exclusive to certain individuals. Different individuals will have a different mix of capabilities for demonstrating and acquiring entrepreneurial behaviours, skills, and attributes. These behaviours can be practiced, developed, and learned; hence it is important to expose all students to entrepreneurship education

Entrepreneurial skills and attitudes provide benefits to society, even beyond their application to business activity. Obviously speaking, personal qualities that are relevant to entrepreneurship, such as creativity and a spirit of initiative, can be useful to everyone, in their working responsibilities and in their daily existence. Also, the relevant technical and business skills need to be provided to those who choose to be self-employed and/or to start their own venture – or might do so in the future

Entrepreneurship should be taught to students in all disciplines in the institution. It is not out of place to say that many business ideas emerge from non-business disciplines but are often waved aside or ignored because students are not sufficiently educated in the knowledge and skills required.

The Economic Perspective on Entrepreneurship

The economic importance of the entrepreneur in world history has been recognized for several decades. Weber (1930) put forward the thesis that the protestant ethic is spirit of capitalism (Green 1959). Other writers have discussed, from different perspectives, the importance of entrepreneurship to different countries in the postindustrial era. Recently, some development economists have said that the expansion of high-grade personnel (such as entrepreneurs), rather than the increase of physical capital, is the major determinant of economic development. Schumpeter (1947), who was, perhaps, the first major economist to analyze the role of entrepreneurship in economic development, attributed innovation to the entrepreneur. He argued that "to study the entrepreneur is to study the central figure in modern economic history."

In the theory of distribution put forward by Say (1824), a neoclassical economist, the entrepreneur plays a crucial role, though he or she is not a production factor. Unlike the capitalist, the entrepreneur directs the application of acquired knowledge to the production of goods for human consumption. Say postulated that, to be successful, the entrepreneur should be able to estimate future demand, determine the appropriate quantity and timing of inputs, calculate probable production costs and selling prices, and have the arts of superintending and administration. As this combination is not common, the number of successful entrepreneurs is limited, especially in industry.

For Schumpeter (1947), as mentioned earlier, the entrepreneur is the centre of an integrated model of economic development, incorporating a theory of profit and interest, as well as a theory of the business cycle and the capitalist system. The entrepreneur is an innovator, one who carries a combination of the following: the introduction of a new product; the opening of a new market; the conquest of new sources of materials; and the organization of new industry.

The Programme Methodology

This program should leverage culture of high-tech entrepreneurship to help students become entrepreneurs and enable them to learn what they need to develop ideas into successful businesses, and how to increase entrepreneurial opportunities in their nation, institutions, and state. The training material should introduce students to technology transfer system, entrepreneurial educational programs, and entrepreneurial network.

Through lectures by faculty members versed and experience in practical entrepreneurship endeavor, visits to high-tech start-ups, and live case studies with successful entrepreneurs, students will be exposed to the content, context, and contacts that enable entrepreneurs to design and launch successful new ventures based on innovative technologies. Specially designed team projects give students hands-on, practical experience developing a business plan, while networking events bring them together with members of nation’s entrepreneurial community.

The concepts, tools, and frameworks covered in the program will enable participants to:

• Create, identify, and evaluate new venture opportunities
• Interpret customer needs and quantify the value proposition
• Start and build a successful technology-based company
• Understand how the process of starting new ventures may vary geographically and culturally
• Leverage new science and technologies from corporate or university laboratories
• Develop winning business plans
• Scale companies to be globally successful
• Navigate the venture capital investment process
• Obtain feedback on personal entrepreneurship skills

Enhance and expand their networks Scott Stern was an assistant professor of management at the MIT Sloan School of Management from 1995 to 2001 and a non-resident senior fellow of the Brookings Institution from 2001 to 2003. He is the co-organizer of the National Bureau of Economic Research's Innovation Policy and the Economy Working Group and is a senior fellow of the Searle Center on Law, Regulation, and Economic Growth. Stern explores how innovation - the production and distribution of ideas - differs from more traditional economic goods, and the implications of these differences for business and public policy.

His research often focuses on life sciences industries at the intersection between industrial organization and the economics of technical change. Stern's recent studies examine the drivers of commercialization strategy for technology entrepreneurs, the determinants of RandD productivity, and the role of incentives and organizational design on the process of innovation.

He is an associate editor of Management Science, the Journal of Industrial Economics, and the International Journal of Industrial Organization. Stern serves on the board of management of the International Schumpeter Society and has served on the editorial boards of the Antitrust Law Journal and the Journal of Business and Economics Statistics. In 2005, he was awarded the first Ewing Marion Kauffman Prize Medal for Distinguished Research in Entrepreneurship.

Stern holds a BA in economics from New York University and a PhD in economics from Stanford University.

Programme Curriculum:

• The Spirit of Entrepreneurship
• Venture Creation Step #1: Creating Value
• Marketing
• Evaluating Market Opportunities
• Simulation Lab
• Product development
• Dilemmas in Launching Entrepreneurial Organizations
• Making Great Products- PRACTICAL PRODUCTION
• Company Visits
• Networking
• Venture Creation Step #2: Capturing Value
• Financial Models
• Entrepreneurial Marketing
• Feasibility Study
• Entrepreneurial Financing
• Entrepreneurial Leadership/Culture