Determining entrepreneurship education knowledge role in boosting innovation among students

Abstract

The South African unemployment rate currently is at 32.9%. The labour market is struggling to create opportunities and failing to  counteract unemployment with relevant skills. The covid-19 pandemic resulted in more people losing jobs which then contributed to the  increase in unemployment. The country should reduce poverty by developing innovative entrepreneurs at a tertiary level. These difficulties indicate that people are facing challenges to get decent jobs due to lack of skills. The article focuses on expanding  entrepreneurship education in South African universities to strengthen economy and create job opportunities in the country.  Entrepreneurship education plays a significant role in educating people about business development, reducing poverty while creating job  opportunities using innovation. The quantitative data was collected using questionnaires on postgraduate students, the findings  were analysed using SPSS latest version. The sample was made up of 368 postgraduate students, 4 academic staff from University of  KwaZulu-Natal, 346 postgraduate students and 4 academic staff from University of Zululand. The findings reveal that expanding  entrepreneurship education will stimulate entrepreneurial mindset and innovation on students. However, students argue that  universities does not have adequate infrastructure and resources to support innovation and entrepreneurship education. On the other  hand, academic staff believe that higher education must have an active role in introducing and promoting entrepreneurship education.