The Impact of Nigerian Educational Policies on Business Schools and Entrepreneurship Education

Abstract

This paper discussed the need in Nigeria to create a synergy between Education with entrepreneurial skill acquisition and self-employment through integrated national policies. This would serve as a panacea for solving the massive unemployment problem, diminish rural poverty and empower a larger percentage of the citizens economically. During the colonial era in Nigeria, the educational policy was geared towards meeting the needs of the colonial administrations. In the post-independence period, the national policy on education changed and the emphasis was put as "education for paid employment" rather than education for self-employment. For a long time also, there was utter neglect of small Enterprises in the industrialization policy. The combination of the above two scenarios have no doubt contributed to the problems of massive unemployment and rural poverty now facing the nation. Since the 1970s attention has been shifted to small and medium scale industries by both the federal and state governments due to the realization of the potentials of this sector in terms of employment generation poverty reduction, rural development, and mobilization of domestic savings. A lot of government and institutional support has therefore been directed to this sector in terms of credit facility, entrepreneurship development etc. What remains to be done is to link educational policy with industrialization and employment policies through formal education intervention in entrepreneurship development. Such a planned integration of polices will foster skills, attitudes and values amongst the youth (while still in school) appropriate to starting owning or working in successful business enterprise.

Keywords: Educational policies; entrepreneurial Education; industrialization; self-employment