ENTREPRENEURSHIP SKILLS ACQUISITION AND THE BENEFITS IN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT IN LAGOS

ENTREPRENEURSHIP SKILLS ACQUISITION AND THE BENEFITS IN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT IN LAGOS

​​​​​​​BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Higher education is defined as the education that is provided following the completion of secondary education at institutions such as universities, colleges of education, polytechnics, and monotechnics, as well as institutions that offer correspondence courses. The definition comes from the National Policy on Education (1998). The policy's stated objectives for tertiary education in Nigeria are as follows: to contribute to national development through high-level relevant manpower training; to develop and inculcate proper values necessary for individual and societal survival; to develop individuals' intellectual capacity to comprehend and appreciate their local and external environments; and to acquire both physical and intellectual skills that will enable individuals to be self-reliant and use their knowledge effectively.

On the other side, Schumpeter (1994) describes entrepreneurship as the ability to perceive and pursue business opportunities while simultaneously optimizing one's use of limited resources. This is referred to as "maximizing one's use of scarce resources." In its most basic definition, entrepreneurship refers to the disposition and skills necessary to explore new avenues for financial investment and to run a business that is profitable. When interpreted in this more recent sense, entrepreneurship takes priority over money. Additionally, it is more fundamental than capital due to the fact that entrepreneurial activity results in the development of capital (Tawari, 2002). As a direct consequence of this, business entrepreneurs are seen as being among the most important contributors to economic development. Their contributions are provided via labor-related activities, the transfer of capital goods, the transformation of raw materials into finished products, and lastly, the efficient distribution of the products to end consumers.

Therefore, entrepreneurs are the people who seek out and find economic opportunities, gather the financial and other resources necessary to develop them, assess the available alternatives in the environment and allocate resources to the most profitable ones, and ultimately bear responsibility for the management and/or successful execution of opportunities. An entrepreneur is someone who is comfortable with taking and carrying out risks that are driven by the desire to achieve a certain objective. He or she is aware of where to seek aid and when it is necessary, and is continually prepared to adjust to changes in the business environment. In addition, he or she is aware of where to obtain assistance and when it is required (Schumpeter, 1994).

As a direct consequence of this, Nigeria's educational institutions of higher learning are predicted to start instructing high-level professionals who are often obsessive, focused, articulate, and resourceful. As a consequence of this, graduates have a greater propensity to be charismatic leaders who take an introspective approach to the creation of jobs, the expansion of wealth, and the creative application of talent.

In addition, providing opportunities for young people in Nigeria to participate in the expansion of wealth, the creation of jobs, the eradication of poverty, and the reorientation of values is an essential component of a strategic macroeconomic framework (NEEDS, 2005). This is also evident in the recent uptick in demand for educational programs on entrepreneurship offered by the academic institutions, parastatals, and non-governmental organizations located around the nation. This new vision and values would shed light on Nigeria's small and medium-sized businesses if they were fully implemented. Therefore, expanding access to higher education with an emphasis on developing entrepreneurial skills would provide the optimal conditions for economic expansion to take environment. Therefore, it is the responsibility of educational institutions of higher education to provide young people with the appropriate training so that they have the skills necessary to launch and manage profitable businesses with a reduced risk of failure. Through the participation in various activities such as these, higher education contributes to the development of human resources in a number of ways. Therefore, investments in higher education will continue to be an economic component of the expansion of the nation's economy (NEEDS, 2005).

Higher education institutions in Nigeria have been given the responsibility of training both young people and professionals, such as managers, scientists, engineers, and technicians, who are able to contribute to the innovation development, adaptation, and dissemination that occurs inside the country. The rate of advancement of higher education in a nation is inversely linked to the rate of economic expansion (Tawari, 2002). However, a comparison of the current quality of products produced by institutions of higher learning in the country to the country's laudable higher educational goals reveals that the Nigerian nation has not yet found her path toward achieving the goals set for higher education in terms of preparing youth for entrepreneurship. This is because the nation's higher educational institutions are not producing high-quality products that match the laudable goals of the country's higher educational system. The purpose of this study is to investigate the degree to which students in Nigerian higher education institutions have been adequately equipped for entrepreneurship ownership and the working world.

​​​​​​​STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

It is critical to emphasize once again the vital role that start-ups and small entrepreneurs play in driving economic growth in this context. Economic entrepreneurship in our nation is contingent on our ability to create new jobs through entrepreneurial endeavors; however, successful entrepreneurial endeavors require graduates of our educational institutions of higher learning who are well-trained and eager to take the helm of new entrepreneurship ventures (Tawari, 2002). However, the most important issue to ask at this juncture is whether or not the quality of education that is currently being provided by higher education institutions in the country effectively qualifies recent college graduates for starting their own businesses rather than looking for work. The preceding worry is predicated on the apparent hues and cries of numerous scholars (Okoroma, 2006) about the low quality and declining standard of tertiary education in Nigeria, which is seriously impeding the system's ability to produce the type of graduates that are necessary for job creation and genuine economic growth and development in the country. This concern is predicated on the fact that the standard of tertiary education in Nigeria is declining.

​​​​​​​OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The broad objective of this study is to examine entrepreneurship skills acquisition and the benefits in undergraduate student in Lagos. Specifically, other objectives of this study are:

1. Identify the purpose of entrepreneurship education in Nigeria Universities.
2. Determine whether entrepreneurship skill acquisition empowers the youths economically.
3. Ascertain whether entrepreneurship skill helps undergraduates to  undertake the risk of venturing into applying the knowledge and skills gotten from school for self employment.
4. Determine if entrepreneurship skill acquisition provide undergraduates with enough training to enable creativity and innovation so as to encourage self-employment and self-reliant.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions will be answered in this study:

1. What are the purposes of entrepreneurship education in Nigeria Universities?
2. Does entrepreneurship skills acquisition empower undergraduates economically?
3. Does entrepreneurship skills help undergraduates to undertake the risk of venturing into applying the knowledge and skills gotten from school for self employment?
4. Does entrepreneurship skills acquisition provide undergraduates with enough training to enable creativity and innovation so as to encourage self-employment and self-reliant?

RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

The following null hypotheses will validate this study:

Ho: Entrepreneurship skills acquisition does not significantly benefit undergraduate students.

​​​​​​​SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study is essential because it provides pertinent information on the need to enhance higher education in order to adequately prepare undergraduates for the world of employment. Additionally, it will serve as a sensitization document for students and anyone else who reads it, emphasizing the critical significance of enrolling in entrepreneurial skills development education programs in order to gain essential skills necessary to thrive in a depressed economy.

The study's findings are also intended to raise prospective graduates' awareness of the need of entrepreneurship education.

Additionally, the study is crucial for articulating the necessity for education planners and the authorities of Nigerian university institutions (private and public) to focus their efforts on inculcating entrepreneurial development courses into tertiary institutions' curriculum and programs.

Finally, this study will be beneficial to scholars and researchers as it will serve as an existing material for further studies and future references.

​​​​​​​SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study will be focused on examining entrepreneurship skills acquisition and the benefits in undergraduate student in Lagos. Specifically, this study will focus on identifying the purpose of entrepreneurship education in Nigeria Universities, determining whether entrepreneurship skill acquisition empowers the youths economically, ascertaining whether entrepreneurship skill helps undergraduates to  undertake the risk of venturing into applying the knowledge and skills gotten from school for self employment, and determining if entrepreneurship skill acquisition provide undergraduates with enough training to enable creativity and innovation so as to encourage self-employment and self-reliant. The study will be conducted in Lagos State University.

​​​​​​​LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

 This study will be limited to examining entrepreneurship skills acquisition and the benefits in undergraduate student in Lagos. Specifically, this study will be limited to examining the extent to which higher education influences students desire for entrepreneurship, establishing if higher education promotes the development of students’ skill for entrepreneurship and ascertain ways by which students entrepreneurship skill can be developed during higher education.

Students of Lagos State University will form the population of this study, thus the sample size was limited because only a few respondents were chosen to answer the research instrument, therefore the results cannot be generalized to other schools outside the state.

​​​​​​​DEFINITION OF TERMS

Youths: Youth is the time of life when one is young, and often means the time between childhood and adulthood. It is also defined as "the appearance, freshness, vigor, spirit, etc., characteristic of one who is young".

Entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values than simply economic ones.

1.10 Organization of the Study

The study is categorized into five chapters. The first chapter presents the background of the study, statement of the problem, objective of the study, research questions and hypothesis, the significance of the study, scope/limitations of the study, and definition of terms. The chapter two covers the  review of literature with emphasis on conceptual framework, theoretical framework, and empirical review. Likewise, the chapter three which is the research methodology, specifically covers the research design, population of the study,  sample size determination,  sample size, abnd selection technique and procedure, research instrument and administration, method of data collection, method of data analysis, validity and reliability of the study, and ethical consideration. The second to last chapter being the chapter four presents the data presentation and analysis, while the last chapter(chapter five) contains the summary, conclusion and recommendation.

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