ESSENCE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION FOR ACHIEVING VISION 2020 IN NIGERIA

Nigeria is endowed with vast human and economic potentials, but every concerted effort aimed at moving towards attainment of rightful position on functional educational perspectives that would eventually lead to the desired growth economically and technologically still remain a mirage. To merge this gap, the federal government has articulated a twenty years (1999-2020) development plan tagged “vision 2020”. Overtime, there was a belief that, the education sector with particular focus on vocational and technical education would solve the problem. However, in the current Nigeria with its problems of unemployment especially among the youths has made selfreliance to become imperative. This paper envisages that, the inclusion of entrepreneurship in Vocational and Technical Education will play a complementary role in Nigeria, hence, the paper concludes and recommended among others that, adequate funding of entrepreneurship education is very essential. Vision 2020 in Nigeria is a development agenda. Functional education is the most important factor in Nigeria’s quest to meet up these challenges by the year 2020. According to Mokweye (2009) “It has become a song in the mouth of human resource experts in the country and more serious nations of the world that no nation develops more than its human capital”. For this reason, countries all over the world invest a large portion of their budget on education. A nation that is not able to develop her people’s skills and knowledge and make them nationally conscious can hardly improve any other aspects of her life. Vision 2020 more than any development plan in Nigeria has attracted so much attention from both within and outside the borders of Nigeria. It is not surprising that this project has gathered so much momentum because, Nigeria has a great economic potential that is well recognized, nevertheless, successive governments, did not acknowledged its essence. This can be witnessed in the existence of abject poverty, food insecurity, unemployment, population explosion that hinders technological break through. This situation has been considered unacceptable by the recent past and current administrations hence, they have decided to map out a development plan aimed at attaining its full economic potentials to standout among 20 largest economics in the world by 2020. For this vision to become a clear mental picture of the future which will represent a significant improvement on the current state, there is need for increased awareness among Nigerians of obvious necessity for self employment and self-reliance. The type of educational pursuit that can be strategized to bring about the objectives of this move is Vocational and Technical Education, in practice. Technological advancement is the requisite tool needed to enhance development because the purpose of education is not mere intellectual development, but the ability to put the intellect to work in practical terms. This has been the missing link in educational efforts. The earlier, explore the options that other nations like the Asian countries have used, the better for us. One of such key options has been the inclusion of entrepreneurial education in school system. This view is supported Multidisciplinary Journal of Research Development Volume 17 No 4 September, 2011 2 by Ugwu (2007), when he stated that, education no doubt, is at the heart of development and that education develops an individual by equipping him both intellectually and vocationally to face the realities of life in the larger society, hence, the inclusion of entrepreneurship in Vocational and Technical Education is a target to achieve vision 2020 in Nigeria. Concept of Vision 2020 A vision is a clear mental picture of the future which must represent a significant improvement in the physical. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2006), defined vision as “the ability to see; the area that you can see from a particular position”. This dictionary further envisaged that, “vision 20-20 is the ability to see perfectly”. A vision therefore, is an idea of what you think something should be like. If the vision sees a brighter and better future, a concise direction must be drawn to follow with genuine and purposeful efforts for its attainment. The Nigeria Vision 2020 postulates that, by the year 2020 Nigeria will be one of 20 largest economics in the world, that would be able to consolidate its leadership role in Africa and establish itself as a significant player in the global economic and political arena. According to Eje (2010), Vision 2020 is hinged on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the United Nation which was a blue print containing the resolution of 189 countries and 147 head of state in September 2000. The aim of MDGs was centered on eradication of global poverty by 2015 (Scott, 2006). But in Nigeria, the federal government felt that the time was inadequate to meet up with the 2015 target before the emergence of the orchestrated year 2020 during which she hopes to be counted among the top 20 world economics. Meeting these national objectives, there is a dire by Nigerian government to transform and effectively plan towards the growth of the national economy. This will therefore means improving the educational sector especially Vocational and technical education to initiate the spirit of creativity in an individual which can enable him/her to become self-reliance. The United Kingdom’s department for international development had stressed the importance of education in national development in its 2002 annual report thus: . Education is at the heart of development, the countries which made greatest progress in reducing poverty in recent decades are those which have combined effective and equitable investment in education with sound economic polities. Education enables people use and extend their capabilities, develop skills, improve their live hood and increase their earning potential (Eje 2010). It is essential to realize that functional education is capable of improving an individual via all round review of objectives that are important to human life and development, hence these characteristics are seen as major factor that can catapult Nigeria to achieve the objectives of vision 2020. Vocational and Technical Education and Entrepreneurship Technological advancement is the tool for development, because the purpose of education is not mere intellectual development, but the ability to put the intellect into action. For a nation to become developed and great, it needs a good number of people in science, Technology and Vocational Education. According to Osuala (1981), the major vocational areas are Vocational Agriculture, Business education, Health occupation, Trade and Industrial education and Technical Owakoyi Alapa