An Empirical Analysis On The Effect Of Higher Education To Individual Economic Growth-Perspectives Of Students In Univerisity Of Abuja In Nigeria

The study has been an empirical analysis on the effect of higher education to individual economic growth – perspectives of students in University of Abuja,which is the capital of Nigeria.The researcher used a research question which has 3 sub-questions and three hypotheses to serve as a guide for the study.More so,the data were analyzed using mean and standard deviation,Pearson product moment of correlation coefficient while the hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significance using multiple regression analysis.The findings show that higher education has significant impact on individual economic growth in Nigeria,by providing graduates with adequate knowledge and training to produce goods and services,improve efficiency and use science and technology to solve problems,in return empowering the individual economically and making the individual valuable to the country.But at this presents moment,higher education does not contribute to” the development of individual economies because it is not providing Nigerian graduates with the necessary tools to contribute to the economy,leaving majority of them redundant and jobless.This means that higher education in Nigeria has major positive influence to the growth of individual economics but it is not utilized to serve this advantageous goal such as developing the science and technology sector,improving efficiency in agriculture,modernizing healthcare services and more importantly,revamping the education system which will all improve the financial strength of the individuals in the aforementioned sectors.Moreover,the results clearly show that there are major challenges that obstruct the implementation of higher education in Nigeria,and there are implications of education to the socio-economic development policies of Nigeria.In general,the results establish human capital that makes a substantial contribution to individual economic and income growth.Its contribution returns in the form of skilled labor which leads to increased development and improved quality of life.Different theories and models have been usedto examine the relationship between education and economic growth.Most of them concentrated on human capital accumulation as source of acceleration in economic growth.Some of them used human capital as an engine of economic growth to technological change.But for human capital accumulation,a country should invest more on the on higher education to enhance individual economic growth.This research work concluded that there is significant funding shortage in Nigerian higher education institutions,which results in low quality of education and unprepared workforce for the job market.It further describes higher education reform as a step that is not taken seriously and the efforts of China in helping Nigeria advance it's economic clout.Several recommendations are made to improve Higher Education contribution to individual economic growth in Nigeria.Firstly,promotion of public-private partnerships will reduce financial burden on the government and inspire creativity and technological development.Also,Chinese policies on higher education can be studied by Nigeria and modeled to fit the Nigerian system due to their effectiveness,clarity and practicality.Nigerian government should improve funding to higher education institutions,by spending at least 10-15% of its annual budget on modernizations,academic staff training,curriculum upgrade and staff welfare.Incentives and trainings for academic and nonacademic staff is crucial to keep talents in Nigeria,and also equip them with updated knowledge and skills.Companies should also create a close relationship with higher education institutions which will produce solutions that the companies have,thereby making the students innovative and improving funding for the institutions as well as the economic welfare of the individuals involved.Nigerian students are also encouraged to be diligent when it comes to improving time management skills when the above measures are implemented.The responsibility for improving individual economy of Nigerians using higher education is not just the responsibility of the government,but the whole country as well.