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European Journal of Education Studies ISSN: 2501 - 1111 ISSN-L: 2501 - 1111 Available on-line at: www.oapub.org/edu Volume 3 │ Issue 9 │ 2017 doi: 10.5281/zenodo.998288 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES AND THEIR ENTREPRENEURIAL BUSINESS VENTURE CHOICES IN CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGEMENT EFFECTIVENESS Wokasor E. Ofem1, Basil A. Akuegwu1i, Franca U. Udey2 Department of Educational Administration and Planning, 1 University Of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria Department of Educational Foundations and Administration, 2 Cross River University of Technology, Calabar, Nigeria Abstract: This study investigated the influence of University Students’ Demographic Variables on their Entrepreneurial Business Venture Choices in Cross River State, Nigeria and its implication for management effectiveness. Two null hypotheses were formulated and tested at .05 level of significance. Ex post facto design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised three thousand, nine hundred and sixty (3,960) final year students of nine (9) faculties from two universities (University of Calabar and Cross River University of Technology) in Cross River State. The sample was three hundred and ninety six (396) final year students drawn from the faculties through stratified random sampling technique. A researcher-developed questionnaire named Students’ Demographics and Entrepreneurial ”usiness Venture Choice Questionnaire SDE”VCQ was used for data collection. Contingency Chi-square analysis was used in testing the two hypotheses. Results of the analysis revealed that there is a significant influence of ethnic/geo-political and family business background on entrepreneurial business venture choices of university students. Based on these results, it was recommended that wide range of business choices should be provided in the entrepreneurial programme for students to choose from with emphasis on their demographics. The university system should device strategies to assist the students that Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved. © 2015 – 2017 Open Access Publishing Group 590 Wokasor E. Ofem, Basil A. Akuegwu, Franca U. Udey UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ DEMOGR“PHIC V“RI“”LES “ND THEIR ENTREPRENEURIAL BUSINESS VENTURE CHOICES IN CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGEMENT EFFECTIVENESS indicated their intentions to start enterprises while in school and after graduation through incubation programmes. Keywords: university students, demographic variables, entrepreneurship, management 1. Background to the study Education globally is known to be an indispensable tool for socioeconomic development and wealth creation. It is an instrument par excellence for effecting national development (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004). The influence that education has on the attitudes and aspirations of youths depends on their understanding of the impact such education will have on their socioeconomic wellbeing. For education to be potent and useful, it must have to be indigenized. That is to say, it must be designed in accordance with the prevailing needs of the society and the nation at large. University education as prescribed by Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004, p.28) was to make optimum contribution to national development through: a. Intensifying and diversifying its programmes for the development of high level manpower within the context of the needs of the nation. b. Making professional course contents reflect our national requirements. c. Making all students part of a general programme of all-round improvement in university education, to offer general study courses such as History of Ideas, Philosophy of Knowledge, Nationalism and Information Technology. d. Making entrepreneurial skills acquisition a requirement for all Nigerian universities. It is no gainsaying that some of the objectives of the Nigerian university education have become unfulfilled particularly in the area of diversifying for selfemployment generation. The non-attainment of these objectives created a lot of social problems; significant among them is the quality and number of graduate output yearly and its multiplier effect of unemployment. Katsina (2010) frowned at the increasing involvement of youths in criminal activities in the country and called on government at all levels to initiate proactive curricular in the education system. The state of unemployment across the country prompted federal government to direct all the tertiary education regulatory agencies to establish mechanism for the introduction, development and sustenance of entrepreneurial culture among Nigerian youths. Following the presidential directive through the Federal Ministry of Education, entrepreneurial studies was introduced and made compulsory for all students in higher European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 9 │ 2017 591 Wokasor E. Ofem, Basil A. Akuegwu, Franca U. Udey UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ DEMOGR“PHIC V“RI“”LES “ND THEIR ENTREPRENEURIAL BUSINESS VENTURE CHOICES IN CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGEMENT EFFECTIVENESS educational institutions in Nigeria effective from 2007/2008 academic session (Akuegwu & Udida, 2008; Yahaya, 2011). Today, many universities in Nigeria including the University of Calabar as well as Cross River University of Technology have included entrepreneurial studies in their respective institution’s curricular. This is an attempt to reverse graduate unemployment trend by giving needed training in entrepreneurial skills to students in their respective centres of training. Students who participated in entrepreneurial programmes from these two institutions and indeed graduate usually showcase their skills by engaging in various entrepreneurial business ventures within their institutions and around Calabar metropolis. Entrepreneurship therefore, is the production of goods or provision of services for sale with the intention to make profit. Entrepreneurship and business are two familiar bedfellows and means the same thing (Oshorun, 2009). Accordingly, the word business formed part of the definition of entrepreneurship, meaning that business is an integral part of entrepreneurship. From the foregoing therefore, it could be said that entrepreneurship leads or culminates in business, as business constitutes the product of entrepreneurship. It is from the above analysis that Oshorun inferred that entrepreneurship is a parent while business is the offspring in the relationship. Without entrepreneurship, there cannot be a business; entrepreneurship is the fire while business is the smoke”. Entrepreneurial business venture choice is the ability of an individual to pick any money yielding activity for the purpose of generating income based on knowledge, interest and capability. There is a subsisting awareness among students of the efficacy of entrepreneurial studies as an instrument for socioeconomic development and wealth creation in the University of Calabar and Cross River University of Technology. This is evident in their palpable willingness to engage in income yielding ventures like Catering, Fashion designing, Hairdressing, Computer repairs, Photography, and Fish farming among others. With the awareness and willingness however, it is hoped that students could be able to make specific choice of entrepreneurial business ventures that could serve as platforms for employment generation for themselves and others. Through this, they contribute towards reducing the rate of unemployment in the society and to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product. The study of entrepreneurship exposes students to number of business venture choices such as: Hairdressing, Fashion designing, Photography, Bread baking, Bead making, Computer repairs. Others are; Interior decoration, Electrical wiring, Fish farming and Painting. They are expected to choose any of these business ventures and specialize in it with the intention of plying it as a trade for employment purposes upon European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 9 │ 2017 592 Wokasor E. Ofem, Basil A. Akuegwu, Franca U. Udey UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ DEMOGR“PHIC V“RI“”LES “ND THEIR ENTREPRENEURIAL BUSINESS VENTURE CHOICES IN CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGEMENT EFFECTIVENESS their graduation. It is no contradiction however, that students who are exposed to entrepreneurial programme have the tendency to possess a better outlook in terms of their attitudes and aspirations. Nigeria is a multi-ethnic country with each tribe having unique features culturally, socially, religiously and educationally, that distinguishes her from others. Apart from these, there are the ethnic/geo-political and family background dimensions. Ethnic/geo-political background in this study means the tribe or geo-political area an individual comes from that may shape his/her choice of business venture. Family business background, in this study is a line of business activity a particular family does or is noted for. It is therefore, the intention of the researchers to investigate whether these factors influence students’ entrepreneurship business venture choices in universities in Cross River State, Nigeria. For viewing / downloading the full article, please access the following link: https://oapub.org/edu/index.php/ejes/article/view/1071 European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 9 │ 2017 593