Relationship Between Entrepreneurship Education and Economic Growth and Development in Nigeria

Abstract

Within the last 30 years, entrepreneurship education (EE) has continued to gain
massive interest both in the field of research and among policy makers. This flow in
interest can be attributed to the perceived importance entrepreneurship education
plays in the equipping of potential entrepreneurs and as a 21st century strategy to
foster economic growth and development. This paper sets out to ascertain the
relationship between entrepreneurship education and economic growth and
development in Nigeria. A desk research approach was adopted where a multiplicity
of literatures in the field were studied intensely. The findings reveal that indeed EE
has a positive effect on entrepreneurship engagement thereby fostering economic
growth and development. The findings also revealed that countries that adopted EE
early have more innovations inspired by entrepreneurs and are more developed than
those that only recently adopted EE as a viable tool for entrepreneurship and economic
development. Based on these, recommendations were made among which are
Government, through tertiary institutions, should embark on appropriate reorientation of Nigeria undergraduates to have the mind-set of self-employment and
creation of employment opportunities rather than searching for paid employment
which has increasingly become unavailable, and Handicraft/handiwork should be
taken seriously right from the primary level of education. The practice of paying money
in lieu of this essential aspect of education that instils creativity and innovation in
young minds should be discouraged.