A Professor of Education, Simeon Dosunmu, said entrepreneurship education is the most powerful and enduring instrument for effecting social change and alleviating poverty in the country.
Dosunmu, a lecturer at Lagos State University (LASU), said this at the eighth annual international conference organised by the Faculty of Education, LASU, Ojo, on Tuesday in Lagos.
The conference had the theme: “Understanding and Tackling Rampaging Global Poverty Through Education.”
Dosunmu, also the chairman of the conference, said a well-planned functional education system boosted human moral, moulded them into enlightened citizens and immersed them in the shared values of society.
“A functional education system develops commitment to national goals, and enhances the productive capacities of citizens for a secured future.
“It is through education that society can renew itself and promote desirable changes by providing opportunities and experiences inside and outside the classroom for citizens to combat their prejudices.
“Education also renews dysfunctional beliefs and makes them adjust to the philosophy and emerging needs of their society,” Dosunmu said.
He added that the choice of the theme was informed by the fact that economic inequality had been a prominent and perennial concern among people, governments, economists, public analysts and educationists.
“The persistence of inequalities within nations and across nations demands innovative policy responses to alleviate poverty.
“It is imperative, therefore, that we interrogate poverty, and education-based solutions are proffered at this point.
“Providing answers to these burning national questions will require significant changes in the orientation, structure and functioning of society; and it is in these respects that education comes in handy,” Dosunmu said.
Also, Mr Adesola Adebawo, General Manager, Government, Joint Venture and External Relations Energy Operational Services Ltd., called on governments to introduce universal entrepreneurship education, which would help to solve poverty in Nigeria.
Adebawo said introducing entrepreneurial education would help to build the managerial capacity of young entrepreneurs, and called for greater investment in data platforms to manage and analyse data on entrepreneurship.
