THE ROLE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION IN POVERTY ALLEVIATION IN NIGERIA: PERCEPTION OF STUDENTS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the study: According to Bruton et al (2013), there has been a growing interest in finding a long-term solution to poverty alleviation in developing countries, and in entrepreneurship, which is considered an important and strategic tool for economic growth in many countries by encouraging innovation, creativity, and job creation, and appears to have a significant impact on poverty reduction and sustainable development. According to the 2019 World Poverty Clock report, 91.8 million people in Nigeria are presently living in severe poverty. According to the World Bank (2012), a person is considered to be living in severe poverty if their income is less than $1.90 per day, which equates to #693.5 per day. Nigeria was named the world's poverty capital in June 2018, according to the World Poverty Clock, with 87 million people living in extreme poverty. According to the most recent data, 4 million Nigerians have fallen into severe poverty since June 2018. They also estimate that 120 million people would be living in poverty by 2030. This was verified by British Prime Minister Theresa May, who stated that Nigeria has become home to the world's highest population of extremely impoverished people (the cable Feb. 2019).

According to Alozie (2019), many initiatives implemented in Nigeria over the years have had little influence on reducing poverty levels in the country, with a large number of Nigerians still living in abject poverty. While Danaan (2018) claims that government initiatives and policies aimed at promoting innovation, entrepreneurship, infrastructure development, and enhanced welfare have been ineffective in addressing Nigeria's poverty problem. Unemployment and poverty are so closely linked that it's easy to mix them up. Unemployment signifies a failure to use the labor force, whereas excessive unemployment suggests poverty.

According to Ezie (2012), Nigeria's unemployment status is concerning, and it is even more disappointing that the country's economic predicament prevents it from absorbing an ideal share of its labor force. In support of this assertion, Egunjobi (2014) stated that unemployment in Nigeria is pervasive and deep, affecting people of all ages, educational levels, and geographical locations, and that she feels unemployment is one of the most important hurdles to societal progress. The jobless rate jumped from 17.6 million 18.8 percent in Q3'17 to 20.9 million 23.1 percent in Q3'18, according to a data from the National Bureau of Statistics. They also noted that Nigeria's jobless rate has been rising since the 2014 economic crisis. Looking at the above allegations of poverty and unemployment, it is evident that Nigeria is sitting on a ticking time bomb, signaling a significant problem that must be addressed. Numerous governments have proposed various initiatives over time to combat young unemployment and poverty, which has been a major public concern since the introduction of the Structure Adjustment Program (SAP) in the 1980s. Indeed, young unemployment and poverty has become a focal point of government social policy in Nigeria since independence. In 2010, the Federal Government, through the National Education Research and Development Council (NERDC), developed a new curriculum for senior secondary schools with the goal of providing functional education to students so that they can be equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to become self-sufficient. Entrepreneurship Education has been recognized as an antidote to unemployment and poverty among youngsters in both developed and developing nations, according to Sajuyigbe, Kareem, and Oyedele (2016). Entrepreneurship Education, according to Ngerem and Ezikpe (2016), lies at the heart of both individual and societal economies. To satisfy the demands of society, an individual need certain talents; with these capabilities, he may explore his surroundings for the improvement of both himself and society. They went on to say that school leavers (youths) will only be introduced to self-employment through Entrepreneurship Education.

1. 1. Statement of the problem

Nigeria, like the majority of developing countries throughout the world, is confronted with a slew of issues and harsh realities, including poverty, unemployment, violence, and sickness. Numerous studies have found that entrepreneurial endeavors have the potential to lift people out of poverty, either by encouraging them to start their own business or by creating jobs for others, which is one of the reasons why Nigerian curriculum planners decided to include Entrepreneurship Education in her secondary school curriculum. The basic goals of entrepreneurship education are to teach students to gain appropriate functional trade/entrepreneurial skills in order to prepare for a meaningful life. The curriculum emphasizes value orientation, job creation, wealth development, and poverty reduction. Okpochefo and Alika (2018) found that a country like Nigeria, which is one of the world's developing nations, cannot afford to overlook the importance of entrepreneurship education if its inhabitants' career development is to be optimized and if it is to advance or improve technologically.

However, some 10 years after the program's inception, its actual execution has hit a snag, failing to provide the desired results. Despite the introduction of Entrepreneurship Education in Nigerian schools, many graduates stay jobless for lengthy periods of time after graduation. The entrepreneurial education provided to pupils appears to fall short of the course's goals and objectives. The course's content and administration appear to be leaky. The objective of introducing entrepreneurial classes appears to have been defeated, and students do not seem to be affected. More importantly, most secondary schools do not teach it as a subject due to a lack of qualified teachers to teach it, so administrators merge it with either vocational studies or home economics, leaving students without the necessary knowledge on entrepreneurship courses and thus unable to practice innovative skills that can help them escape poverty at the end of the academic year. As a result, the purpose of this research is to find out what students think about the importance of entrepreneurship education in poverty reduction in Nigeria.

1. 1. Objective of the study

The broad objective of this study is to examine Student's perception of the role of Entrepreneurship education in poverty alleviation in Nigeria. Specifically the study seeks:

1. To find out whether entrepreneurship subject are offered in secondary schools in Ibaji Local Government area of Kogi State.

2. To find out whether entrepreneurship subject are offered in secondary schools eqip the student with the skill needed to start a business or become self-employed.

3. To find out whether secondary school student perceive entrepreneurship education as a means of poverty reduction in Nigeria.

   1. Research Question

1. Are entrepreneurship subject offered in secondary schools in Ibaji Local Government area of Kogi State?

2. Do entrepreneurship subject offered in secondary schools equip the student with the skills  needed to start a business or become self-employed?

3. Do secondary school student perceive entrepreneurship education as a means of poverty reduction in Nigeria?

1.5 Significance of the study

Findings from this study will be relevant to Policy Makers, Secondary school administrators, teachers and students. This study is important to policy makers and stakeholders in Nigeria regarding the design of an entrepreneurship curriculum that can enhance the development of viable business ideas by students in Secondary Schools.The result of this study will provide a guide for secondary school education board, school proprietors and administrator  on the implementation of policies, consistent with engagement in innovative activities and entrepreneurial development of student by engaging qualified teachers in entrepreneurial studies. This research will contribute to existing knowledge in entrepreneurship education literature, by developing an intention model that will be useful for researchers in undertaking further research on related areas of study

1.6 Scope of the study

The scope of this study borders on Student's perception of the role of Entrepreneurship education in poverty alleviation in Nigeria. The study would further  find out whether entrepreneurship subject are offered in secondary schools  and also find out whether entrepreneurship subject are offered in secondary schools equip the student with the skill needed to start a business or become self-employed. Additionaly the compounding issues  that will also be addressed  is the challenges militating against the implementation and success of Entrepreneurship Education in Nigerian schools.  The stud is however delimited to in Ibaji Local Government area of Kogi State.

1.7 Limitation of the study

Notably, like in every human endeavour, the researchers encountered slight constraints while carrying out the study. The significant constraint was the scanty literature on the subject owing that it is a new discourse thus the researcher incurred more financial expenses and much time was required in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection, which is why the researcher resorted to a limited choice of sample size. Additionally, the researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. However in spite of the constraint all these constraint were downplayed to give the bes

1.8 Definition of terms

Entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurship is defined as the process that involves idea generation, opportunity identification and business planning, which results in busness creation or product innovation.

 Entrepreneur: An entrepreneur is defined as an individual, who can successfully and efficiently organise resources in search of an opportunity to create value.

Entrepreneurship Education: Entrepreneurship education is defined as any program or process of education targeted at motivating entrepreneurial actions and behaviour.

Entrepreneurship Curriculum Content: Entrepreneurship curriculum content is defined as information and experiences contained in the curriculum of an entrepreneurship program.

Perception: Perception refers to the process of being aware of one‘s environment through the senses. Learning Orientation: Learning orientation is defined as the inclination towards a continuous search for new knowledge.