1.1 Introduction
The entrepreneurship education refers to many things to variation of people as applicable to their values and observations of what it means to them. Nwabuama (2004) sees entrepreneurship education as the identification of the general characteristics of entrepreneurs and how potential entrepreneurs can be trained in management techniques needed for effective performance of persons for long time service of an organization after the acquisition of occupational skills. For Ebele (2008), entrepreneurship education is the teaching of knowledge and a skill that enables the students to plan, start and run their own business.
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Education is universally recognized as one of the instruments for social, political, scientific and technological development. This is the reason why no society can afford to toy with the education of its citizenry as this will result in a snail speed deve1opment (Azikiwe, 2000). in the 1960s very few people were seeking for admission into higher institutions and those who were admitted got it through hard work. Any person who found himself/herself there was therefore considered intelligent and academically superior to his/her peers (Erigha, 2001).
In today’s competitive and challenging global world with diverse demands, many countries are facing serious problems of graduate unemployment (Adesina, 2013). As a result, the higher education sectors are under immense pressure from governments, employers and parents to produce quality graduates that can be economically engaged at the individual, national and global level (Teichler, 2007). Such undergraduates should possess a combination of attributes that will enable them to take an adaptive and proactive approach to their careers (Bezuidenhout, 2011). While there is consensus worldwide on the importance of addressing employability within higher education, there remains some debate on how best this can be achieved (Harvey and Morey, 2002).
This paper will suggest initiatives to be taken by the to make sure that every stakeholder including the government, higher education institutions, industry and commerce, employers, professional bodies, parents and the students play its part in ensuring that graduates are able to find or create employment sustainably. However, despite the recognition of entrepreneurship as having the potential to curb unemployment among Nigerian youth and the introduction of entrepreneurship education in Nigerian universities, about 80% of the Nigerian youth are unemployed and about 10% are under employed with 7 out of 10 graduates remaining unemployed or underemployed (Dike, 2009).
As the former minister of labour and productivity Adelokunbo Kayode has asserted, the greatest challenge confronting government today remains massive unemployment which has served as a breeding ground for anti-social vices in Nigeria (Olayinka, 2010).
Although there are basically two modes of entry into Nigerian Universities; that is Universities Matriculation Examination (UME) and Direct Entry (DE), a third mode exists as a way of running away from the Universities Matriculation Examination conducted by Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB (Onuoha, 2005).
Although many countries are faced with problems of unemployment in general (Adesina, 2013), the scope of this paper is limited to graduate employability. A graduate here refers to someone who has a bachelor's or higher degree from a higher education institution (HEI). The rationale for focusing on graduate employability arises from the realisation that governments, employers and communities are increasingly interested in what HEIs have to offer as a source of recruitment and for the development of existing employees (Keech, 2006).
In part, this has been driven by a growing awareness of the potential of HEIs in the development of knowledge based economies and driving innovation and national development (Escrigas 2008). The significant role that entrepreneurship plays in creating new ventures, opportunity recognition, small business growth, employment generation has been well established empirically in the entrepreneurship literature (Aldrich & Cliff, 2003; Carland et al., 2004).
Therefore, in Lagos State, Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Impact of Mode of Entry and Attitude on Undergraduate Students Entrepreneurship Skills Acquisition for Sustainable Development.
1.3 Statement of Problems
Investigation revealed that one of the possible causes for this lack is that the education in Nigeria addresses only output end of capacity development solving problem. In addressing the input and therefore, a complimentary approach is needed. In developed economies or industrialized economies for instance, the education system emphasizes the trail of inquiry-discovery application in teaching and students to perceive problems (including societal problems) as challenges and opportunities that can be turned into goods and services of commercial value (Adejimola & Olufumilayo, 2009, Giwa 2000, and Adeyemi 2006).
One of the approaches to achieve the contending in Nigeria is teaching and research at entrepreneurship and innovation centres by universities and other tertiary institutions and the promotion of universities-private sector collaboration. This should involve developing the capacity of staff and students in entrepreneurship and innovation, engaging in outreach activities with small and medium enterprises through such interventions as business incubators. Training entrepreneurs and conducting research and consultancies are inevitable as it pertains to entrepreneurial, industrial and economic growth in Nigeria.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to examine the Impact of Mode of Entry and Attitude on Undergraduate Students Entrepreneurship Skills Acquisition for Sustainable Development in Lagos State, Nigeria. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To evaluate the impact of entrepreneurship skills acquisition on Undergraduate Students self employability;
- To examine the significance of entrepreneurship skills as panacea for Undergraduate Students self employability;
- To determine the effects of entrepreneurial skills acquisition on Nigerian Undergraduate Students;
- To examine the relationship between the mode of entry and attitude on undergraduate students entrepreneurship skills acquisition for sustainable development; and
- To find out whether the entrepreneurship skills performance of students differ due to their mode of entry to Tertiary Institution in Lagos State, Nigeria.
1.5 Research Questions
The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:
- Are there effects of entrepreneurial skills acquisition on Nigerian Undergraduate Students?
- Is there a relationship between the mode of entry and attitude on undergraduate students’ entrepreneurship skills acquisition for sustainable development?
- Will the mode of entry to tertiary institution influence undergraduate students’ performance?
- What is the impact of entrepreneurship skills acquisition on Undergraduate Students self employability?
- What is the significance of entrepreneurship skills as panacea for Undergraduate Students self employability?
1.6 Research Hypothesis
In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.
Hypothesis One
- H0: There is no significant relationship between the mode of entry and attitude on undergraduate students’ entrepreneurship skills acquisition for sustainable development
- H1: There is a significant relationship between the mode of entry and attitude on undergraduate students’ entrepreneurship skills acquisition for sustainable development
1.7 Significance of Study
This study will be beneficial to the following individuals:
Students: The students, especially the undergraduates will find this study very important because its findings and recommendations will serve as pieces of information to them concerning the mode of entry to the University and the resultant academic achievement.
Lecturers: Would be able to know the more that, the academic performance of students depends majorly on their modes of entry into the University. With the results and recommendation of this study, lecturers will have more information on the University admissions mode and their outcomes on students’ academic careers.
The School Authorities: The school authorities no doubt, would be in-the-know concerning admission modes and their effects on students’ learning outcomes in the school, especially at University of Lagos. With these information at the disposal of the school authorities, they would be able to reformulate policies on admissions.
Government/Ministry of Education: The government and the ministry of Education both at the Federal and State levels, would benefit from this because, it will enable them to know clearly the effects of mode of entry of students, on their academic achievement especially at the University of Lagos.
The Society: The larger members of the society would be able to appreciate that the academic performance of student cannot be separated absolutely from their mode of entry into the University. With this, the members of the society would know the roles played by University admission and students’ academic performance at schools.
1.8 Scope of Study
The scope of the research is focused on the Impact of Mode of Entry and Attitude on Undergraduate Students Entrepreneurship Skills Acquisition for Sustainable Development in Lagos State, Nigeria.
1.9 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
1.10 Definition of Terms
Operational terms will be defined in this study accordingly.
Entry Mode: This means the type of admission a student’s gains in order to enter any University in Nigeria. It could be Direct Entry (D.E); the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and or the foundational programme (F.P) organized by various Universities in Nigeria.
Academic Achievement: By this, we mean the overall performance of students in the class tests, continuous assessment and terminal examinations conducted for students at the end of the academic session.
