A proposed curriculum for entrepreneurship in Ugandan universities

Abstract

This research report is based on a problem faced by Uganda, a developingcountry found in East Africa. Prior to 1997, parents met most of the expenses of basic education in this country. Since that time, the government has agreed to meet the basic educational expenses of four children from every family. This resulted in a rise of children going to school to acquire basic education. The number rose from 2 million to about 6.5 million. With the rise in numbers, the government is now faced with the problem of how to create jobs for all those children. The government has realized it cannot create such a large number of jobs within a short time; as a result, it has started advocating for Vocational Education and Entrepreneurship Education. The purpose of the study was to: Identify the components of the United States Entrepreneurship Curriculum; the level of education such components are taught; the outcomes expected of students who have studied such components; compare the educational structures of the United States and Uganda; and find appropriate levels within the Ugandan educational structures where the identified entrepreneurship components can be logically integrated. The study was carried out by: 1. Mailing survey questionnaires to professors in identified universities within the United States. 2. Mailing survey questionnaires to heads of United States small business administration units. The results of the study were tabulated with the help of Excel software and converted to percentages for the purpose of analysis and drawing conclusions. Results showed the following: 1. The respondents identified the following as the components of the U.S. entrepreneurship curriculum among others: Marketing, Accounting, Entrepreneurship (Business Plan) etc. 2. Most respondents favored a practical approach to the study of entrepreneurship (enterprises) extended from middle school to college/university levels. 3. Most respondents expected graduates of the entrepreneurship curriculum at the high school level to be able to perform most of the tasks related to business, and the tasks beyond their high school level ability be handled at the college/ university level. 4. The respondents identified the United States educational structures to be as follows: grade school; middle school; high school; high school and college/university. Uganda’s educational structures are: primary; secondary; high school and college/university. 5. The appropriate and logical points of integrating the identified U.S. entrepreneurship curriculum components to the Ugandan curriculum were identified at secondary school, high school and college/university levels. One of recommendations that cropped up from the study was; the training at any level of education be made conclusive.