Entrepreneurship Skills in Tertiary Institutions and Poverty Debasement in Nigeria

Abstract

The study established a link between entrepreneurship prowess and Nigerian poverty debasement. To direct this study, four research aims and four hypotheses were developed. A correlational research design was used for the study. 137 Heads of Department from the three universities in Rivers State made up the study population. 100 HODs in total took part in the study. Out of the seven higher education institutions in Rivers State, UNIPOT, RSU, and IAUE were chosen using the purposive sampling technique. To ensure that all HODs had an equal chance of being chosen, 100 HODs were chosen at random from each of the three universities using the stratified random sampling technique. There were two tools used to collect data. A 20-item questionnaire created by the researcher was used to gather data on entrepreneurship education (Entrepreneurship Education Skills Questionnaire, EESQ), and a different 5-item instrument was used to gauge poverty reduction (Poverty Reduction Questionnaire, PRQ). The instrument's dependability was evaluated using the Cronbach Alpha method. The indices were calculated using the Cronbach Alpha formula, yielding values of 0.81 and 0.82 for the EESQ and PRQ, respectively. At a significance level of =0.05, the Pearson Product Moment correlation statistical tool was used to test the null hypotheses. According to the study, entrepreneurship skills in Nigerian agriculture, furniture/woodworking, computer services, and food/drink/bakery have a strong and positive correlation with poverty reduction. It was finally recommended that the Nigerian government should take the task of providing our educational institutions with the necessary skill acquisition tools so that our youths can be trained in entrepreneurship skills, which will in turn promote economic growth and lessen poverty.