The role of higher education in promoting entrepreneurship education : the case of public universities in Tanzania

Abstract

This study explores the role of universities as well as their strategies and extent to which entrepreneurship education is fostered in terms of policy frameworks, the curriculum and stakeholders‟ perceptions of entrepreneurship education. The study was guided by the question: “How do universities in Tanzania foster entrepreneurship education in different fields of study?” Shapero‟s entrepreneurial event model has been adapted to analyze the feasibility and desirability of entrepreneurship education in a university-wide curriculum. This is a case study of two public universities in Tanzania: the University of Dar es Salaam and Mzumbe University. In-depth interviews were conducted with lecturers across disciplines at the selected universities. Some officials from relevant government ministries and agencies were also interviewed. In addition to the interviews, relevant documents from the universities and government were also reviewed. An analysis of the data indicates that entrepreneurship education is not well-integrated within the university-wide curricula because its implementation does not suit the pedagogical needs of some disciplines. Its desirability and feasibility is still debatable because of various factors such as ; the incoherence between national and university policy strategies; complexity of university multidisciplinary structures; variations in stakeholders‟ perceptions; the business-oriented view of entrepreneurship education reflected in the literature and the evolution of the selected universities. However, the role of donor support for the current status of entrepreneurship education is significant by virtue of projects that are attached to some faculties and schools. Through these projects, entrepreneurship-related courses, programmes, centres and staff capacity development have been established. This study recommends that entrepreneurship education should be tailored to enhance the skills necessary for all forms of employment. This should go hand-in-hand with the establishment of boundary crossings between academia and emerging labour market. Donor-oriented projects should be well-negotiated between partners so that entrepreneurship education initiatives are tailored to suit the local context.