UNDERGRADUATES’ ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTIONS AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF UNIVERSITY ENTREPRENEURIAL PROGRAMME IN OYO STATE, NIGERIA: IMPLICATIONS ON JAPA SYNDROME

Abstract

In Nigeria, it seems that the majority of graduates don't view the business opportunities offered by entrepreneurship as a career that can secure their future, in spite of their exposure to the entrepreneurship education programme. This study, therefore, examined undergraduates’ entrepreneurial intentions and the contributions of the University Entrepreneurial programme to undergraduate entrepreneurial development in Oyo State, Nigeria. The study adopted a mixed methods research design. A total of 150 undergraduates were selected using a multi-stage sampling technique. A validated questionnaire was used to collect the data. The quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics of mean, and standard deviation while the qualitative data was presented using content analysis. The findings of the study revealed that both entrepreneurial intentions of undergraduates and the perception of undergraduates on the contributions of the entrepreneurship programme were high, (x = 2.72 > 2.50) and (x = 3.10 > 2.50) respectively. From the findings, it was recommended that the universities’ entrepreneurship programme, should be comprehensive and run through the 200 to 400 level; lecturers should adopt experiential learning which would give undergraduates the opportunity to be well-trained as prospective entrepreneurs and eventually reduce unemployment and at the long run reduce Japa syndrome in Nigeria among others in society.