Abstract

This study, titled "Reassessment of Entrepreneurship Education and Employability Among Graduates in Cross River State," examines the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education in enhancing the employability, self-reliance, and job creation potential of university and tertiary institution graduates within the state. In light of persistent graduate unemployment and underemployment in Nigeria, this reassessment seeks to de termine whether the existing entrepreneurship curriculum and teaching methods adequately equip students with practical skills and entrepreneurial mindsets. The research adopted a Descriptive survey research design. with total the population of about 1023 randomly selected from UNICROSS, UNICAL AND UEA and employ ers of labour. The sample size for the study was 210 graduate and employers of labour in cross river state, calabar was obtained using Cohen, Mansion and Morison (2018) criteria for very large populations sam pling at confidence interval level of 95% confidence level. The Instrument that was used for data collection was a structured questionnaire titled "reassessment of entrepreneurship education and employability among graduate questionnaire" (REEEGQ). The instrument was developed by the researcher. The questionnaire is structured on a four- point rating scale of Strongly Agreed (SA), Agreed (A), Strongly Disagreed (SDA) and Disagreed (D) to determine the reassessment of entrepreneurship education and employability The question naire was validated by the experts comprised three (3) lecturers: one from Measurement and Evaluation Unit of Department of CIT, Faculty of Education, two from Department of Vocational and Technical Education. The are cluster A=0.77, cluster B=0.82, cluster C= 0.61, cluster D = 79, with an overall reliability coefficient of 0.86 was obtained through Cronbach alpha method. Mean was used to answer the research questions, while the hypotheses were tested using independent t - test statistic at 0.05 level of significance. Findings reveal that entrepreneurship education has a significant positive impact on graduates' employability by enhancing practical skills, entrepreneurial mindset, and readiness for self-employment. However, the study also identifies key challenges limiting its effectiveness, including inadequate practical exposure, insufficient funding, poor infrastructure, and weak linkage between academic training and industry needs. The reassessment indicates that while entrepreneurship education holds strong potential as a tool for employment generation, its current implementation requires substantial improvement. The study concludes that strengthening curriculum deliv ery, increasing experiential learning opportunities, and providing institutional and government support are critical to maximizing the employability benefits of entrepreneurship education. Recommendations are made for policymakers, educational institutions, and stakeholders to reposition entrepreneurship education as a practical, outcome-driven component of graduate development in Cross River State.

DOI: doi.org/10.63721/26JESD0139

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