Repositioning University Education for Sustainable Youth Empowerment and National Development in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper reviews the processes of repositioning university education in Nigeria for sustainable youth empowerment and national development. Sustainable youth empowerment refers to the process whereby youths of a particular society are given a confidence boost in terms of structural and altitudinal changes in their society which would be to their benefit and also for the benefit of the next generation of youths in that society. National development refers to the all-round development of the sectors of life of a nation, including economic, financial, and ethnic development. The aim of this paper is to examine some ways through which university education can be carried out so as to bring about sustainable youth empowerment and national development and quality delivery can be achieved in Nigerian universities. This would further develop the students, enabling them to engage in activities that would have a positive effect on the economic and social aspects not just in Nigeria but also in the global community. Thus, the objective of this paper is to understand the dynamics of the concepts of sustainable youth empowerment and national development in relation to university education for the benefit of the nation and the global community. The paper addressed the use of entrepreneurship education, e-learning, and training in the proper use of ICT, amongst others as a method of shifting the focus of university education towards sustainable youth empowerment and national development. The challenges facing the repositioning of university education in order to achieve sustainable youth development and national development were discussed to include inadequate funding, mismanagement of Nigerian universities, and lack of adequate e-learning and ICT facilities, amongst others. It was concluded in this paper that it is a necessity for Nigerian universities to redirect their objectives towards achieving sustainable youth empowerment and national development, as this would bring about a better and sustainable society for present and future generations.