PERCEPTION OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION AMONG SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE ENTERPRISE OWNERS IN JALINGO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF TARABA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study examined the perception of entrepreneurship education among Small and Medium scale enterprise owners in Jalingo Local Government Area of Taraba State. Three research questions were formulated to guide the study. The population comprised of One Hundred and Twenty (120) registered small and medium scale enterprise operators under the National Association of Small Scale Industries (NASSI) and Taraba State Chamber of Commercial Industries and Agriculture (TACCIMA) who are entrepreneurs and beneficiaries of credit and loan scheme in study area. Sample size of One Hundred (100) respondents was drawn using stratified sampling technique. Data were collected from respondents using structured questionnaire and hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance using Chi-square (X²).  The results of the findings revealed that, that entrepreneurship education has significant influence in preparing small and medium scale enterprise owners to be enterprising  which contribute to the economic development of Nigeria. The study recommended that, the transformation of entrepreneurship education should start from primary through secondary and tertiary levels of education. Government should create an environment where exchange of business ideas is easier among SMEs owners.