VOCATIONAL BUSINESS EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTIN NIGERIA

Abstract

The focus of this paper is to explore the role of Vocational Business Education in sustainable economic
development. It has been observed that one of the three pillars of development is economic growth and that
vocational business education, contributes immensely towards the economic growth of any society. The literature
reviewed disclosed that the ability of vocational business education to promote economic growth depends on its
relevance to the needs, values and aspirations of the society it is meant to serve. This implies that vocational
business education should impact appropriate knowledge, skills, attitudes and competencies needed by the society in
order for the products of vocational business education to contribute meaningfully to sustainable economic
development. It was concluded that vocational business education is a formidable tool for sustainable economic
development in Nigeria because it provides its recipients with the appropriate knowledge, skills, attitudes and
competencies that are needed for sustainable economic development. Finally, the findings of the study on vocational
business education revealed some issues on: inadequate funding; poor remuneration and motivation of teachers;
orientation of administrators; insufficient infrastructure and inaccessibility of digital and internet technology.
However, some recommendations are: all stakeholders in Business Education should prioritize and mobilize
adequate funds to support the programme; need by government to motivate Business educators adequately through
improved remuneration and conditions of service; adequate orientation for school administrators to understand the
role of vocational business education in sustainable development, the government supervisory organs in business
education should ensure standards are maintained; constant evaluation of the curriculum at every stage with
current technological realities; need for business educators to improve on personal skills especially on ICT to keep
pace with emerging technologies in vocational business education.