Planning Higher Education for Industrial Revolution and Human Capital Development in Nigeria: Issues and Challenges

The significant contribution of a well-planned investment in education to industrial revolution is very obvious, considering the rate at which countries like Japan, China and other industrialized countries rose to their enviable state of industrial and economic development today. Unlike the Developed Countries (DCs), Third World Countries or Less Developed Countries (LDCs) are facing several challenges. Among the challenges are poor educational planning and implementations of policy statements. Such challenges have indeed impeded the expected industrial revolution and economic development in the affected countries. By implication, there is no short-cut to development in whatever form. A country that adequately plans and invests substantially in human capital will develop rapidly. The human capital theorists have also subscribed to this thesis. This paper is an explorative analysis that examines the influence which effective educational planning could have on industrial revolution and economic development in Nigeria. Some issues and challenges in respect to industrial revolution and economic development were also discussed in the paper. It also examines the status of higher education and holders of higher education degrees in Nigeria vis-à-vis her economic development. The paper finally presents some conditions that should be considered for effective planning of higher education towards possible industrial revolution and economic development in Nigeria.

Higher education; industrial revolution; economic development; challenges; third world countries; human capital development; educational planning; Nigeria.

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