# Introduction he National Policy of Education of 1977 which was revised in 1981 brought in the 6-3-3-4 system of education in Nigeria. This policy was geared towards making relevant changes in the Nation's future manpower by equipping students at the Junior Secondary School (JSS) level with technical and vocational skills that would sustain them in the society. According to this policy, the first six years in the primary school is free and compulsory just as it was during the preceding policy of Universal Primary Education (UPE) of 1976. The 6-3-3-4 system soon experienced a reform that came in form of the Universal Basic Education (UBE). The UBE is a Federal Government intervention in the 6-3-3-4 system to salvage the troubling rate of decline of school enrolment and the quality of education experienced across the nation and its attendant adverse consequences on national development. The Universal Basic Education was flagged-off on the 30th of September, 1999 in Sokoto State by the then president of the nation, Olusegun Obasanjo, who intended the intervention or reform for the achievement of Education For All (EFA) by the year 2015. The UBE provides for free and compulsory education from Primary to Junior Secondary School (that is, first nine years) for children from age six to fifteen. It devotes much attention to producing self-reliant UBE graduates. This is in accordance with one of the objectives of the UBE, that is, "to impart the rudiments of employment creating skills at the Junior Secondary level where technical and vocational education is emphasized" (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004). The government plans to provide a large number of schools to take in all children who are eligible for enrolment and provide funds for adequately equipping the schools (Obasanjo, 1990). The equipping of the schools was to ensure the success of the reform by the year 2015. In the Junior Secondary School, the activities are both pre-vocational and academic. Every student shall offer from three groups that the subjects are put into. Group A subjects are compulsory while those of group B and C are optional. The groups are as follows: a) Group A (Core) The subjects here are core and therefore compulsory for all students. The subjects include: i) English language ii) French language iii) Mathematics iv) Language of the environment (L1) A study of the UBE shows that its essence is to ensure the self-reliance of its products, therefore, it is incumbent on the Government at all tiers to make adequate preparation in providing for the attainment of the UBE objectives. According to the UBE curriculum, the first award of Basic Education Certificate (BEC) will commence from the 2009/2010 school year by which time the existing primary school curriculum will be on the verge of being phased out (2012/2013 school year). Against this backdrop, government sent out a data collating team, the UBE Rapid Response Data team. In its result, out of a total of 332, 408 classrooms in 44,292 primary schools in the country, only 140,134 classrooms were in good condition while 157,819 required massive rehabilitation and a total of 285,920 additional classrooms were required to accommodate 511,939 streams of different classes (UBE 2000). This information does not include provision of other basic facilities and equipment. With sufficient provision and utilization of the appropriate facilities and equipment in each department of the Pre-vocational Technical subjects, the products of Universal Basic Education stand to acquire the following entrepreneurial skills. # II. # Vocational Department In the vocational department where there are subjects like Agricultural Science, Computer Science and Home Economics, students can acquire skills-infarming: # Business Department The only subject in this department is Business studies. Students in this department stand to acquire skills in: These and a few others not mentioned here are skills that the Universal Basic Education proposed to give to its products at the end of their sojourn from Basic I to IX. To what extent then, has the government prepared for the attainment of the UBE objectives, especially in the acquisition of skills for self-employment when the year 2015 is just by the corner. Hence an evaluation of the provision, utilization and management of facilities and equipment for entrepreneurial skills' acquisition by UBE products becomes necessary. This, however, is with particular reference to Lagos State. # Objectives The objectives of this study are: i) To identify the basic facilities and equipment provided to achieve entrepreneurial skills for UBE products; ii) To investigate how much of such facilities and equipment have been put in place; iii) To investigate the extent to which those facilities and equipment are utilized; and iv) To examine the extent to which provided facilities and equipment have given entrepreneurial skills to UBE products. VII. # Literature Review The UBE is designed to be a panacea for lack of creative skills in Junior Secondary School leavers. The National Policy on Education is meant to correct this and achieve other nation's economic agenda as enunciated by the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategies (NEEDS). The UBE became necessary because the hope of a better future is the cardinal focus of the education policy. It is in the knowledge of self and knowledge of the environment that the development of education is premised so that the national life can be lived to the fullest through a collective national will and consciousness (Campbell, 2002). The reform is meant to equip those students whose academic abilities cannot see them beyond the Junior Secondary School level to readily fit into appropriate apprenticeship or technical colleges (Olaniyonu, Adekoya and Gbenu 2003). The programme is expected to create all round development for its beneficiaries with due attention to intellectual and nonintellectual objectives of education. The UBE, according to Adu (2004), is seen as a people oriented programme and therefore the entire citizenry have to participate in it and gain from it. To bring all these programmes to fruition, the Federal Government earmarked 10% of the Federal consolidated fund for the UBE. This simply translates to N30billion. Several foreign aids were also obtained by the Federal Government to assist in the achievement of the goals and objectives of the UBE in 2015. For example, in August 2006, the British Government donated £30million to assist UBE (Olajide, 2006). # VIII. Hypotheses Ho 1 : There is no significant relationship between provision of facilities and acquisition of entrepreneurial skills in Lagos State Junior Secondary Schools. Ho 2 : There is no significant relationship between utilization of provided facilities and acquisition of entrepreneurial skills in Lagos State Junior Secondary Schools. Ho 3 : There is no significant relationship between provision and utilization of facilities for entrepreneurial skills in Junior Secondary Schools in Lagos State. # IX. # Methodology A survey research design was adopted for the study with the independent variables of provision and utilization of facilities and equipment and dependent variable of students' acquisition of entrepreneurial skills in UBE programme. The 288 Public Junior Secondary Schools in Lagos State constituted the target population of the study. Sixty Junior Secondary Schools were selected on a stratified basis of three schools from each of the 20 Local Governments in the State. Students at the point of writing Junior Secondary Certificate Examination were the study participants. Twenty of them were chosen from each of the sample schools thus giving a total of 1200 sample participants. A questionnaire was designed and employed to collect pertinent data for the study from the sample students on Provision and Utilization of Facilities and Equipment for Entrepreneurial Skills' Acquisition (PUFEESA) by UBE products in Lagos State. # X. # Data Analysis a) Test of Hypotheses 1 Ho 1 : There is no significant relationship between provision of facilities and acquisition of entrepreneurial skills in Lagos State Junior Secondary Schools. # Results Results from the analysis in Table 1 indicate a moderately positive significant relationship between provision of facilities and acquisition of entrepreneurial skills in Lagos State Junior Secondary Schools. The hypothesis is therefore not accepted. This implies that from the provision of facilities the students were able to acquire entrepreneurial skills to a moderate extent and this is not due to chance as the correlation coefficient value is significant, the calculated being greater than the table value. Thus the more facilities are provided the more the students acquired entrepreneurial skills in a moderate way. Results from the analysis in Table 2 indicate a significant moderately positive relationship between utilization of facilities and acquisition of entrepreneurial skills by the students. The hypothesis is therefore rejected. This shows that the more the students utilize the facilities the more they acquire entrepreneurial skills moderately. Results from the analysis in Table 3 indicate a highly positive and significant relationship between the provision and utilization for entrepreneurial skills in Junior Secondary Schools in Lagos State. The hypothesis is therefore not accepted. This implies that as the facilities are provided so are they utilized by the students. # XII. # Discussion Entrepreneurial skills have to be acquired, though, interest and talent may speed up the acquisition but then practicals by use of appropriate equipment play a very significant role in the acquisition. According to the results from the analysis, students will be able to acquire one or more of these entrepreneurial skills (see introduction) if facilities and equipment to facilitate the acquisition are provided. That is, the more the equipment are provided the more skills are acquired. It can be said from the analysis that if the equipment are used by the students by way of practicals, the students will acquire more skills as practice is said to make perfect. Result from the test of the third hypothesis seems to be complimenting the earlier ones above because it indicates that the more these facilities are provided the more they shall be put to use by the students under the supervision of the teacher with the sole aim of acquiring entrepreneurial skills by them. # XIII. Conclusion and Recommendations From the foregoing, the study infers that the more the faculties are made available in the schools, the more they are used and the more the students acquire entrepreneurial skills by their use. It is therefore important, that, for the products of the Junior Secondary Schools of Lagos State to acquire entrepreneurial skills, the government must continue to provide facilities to that effect and teachers must be further encouraged to utilize them in the teaching process. Also, the students must practise with these facilities so that the end result of acquisition of entrepreneurial skills can be achieved. ![a) Typing b) Accounting c) Operation of petty businesses d) Office management IV. Art Department This department parades subjects like Fine Art, Local Craft and Music. Here, students can acquire skills in: a) Free-hand drawings b) Textile making (Tie & dye, Batik, Kente etc.) c) Waste to wealth d) Weaving/pottery e) Play acting f) Music production/composition g) Use of musical instruments. V. Technical Department This department is where there are subjects like Metal Work, Wood Work, Technical Drawing, Electrical Work. With proper handling and proper use of sufficiently provided facilities and equipment, students in the department can acquire skills in: a) Block making b) Petty electrical installation c) Carpentry d) Metal usage e) Draught-man-ship f) Bricklaying](image-2.png "") 1NMeansDfr-calr-tableSignificanceProvision of facilities6034580.5020.250SignificantAcquisition of skills6051b) Hypothesis 2Ho2 : There is no significant relationship between utilization of provided facilities and acquisition of entrepreneurial skills in Lagos State Junior Secondary Schools. 2NMeansDfr-calr-table SignificanceProvision of facilities6044580.4840.250SignificantAcquisition of skills6051c) Hypothesis 3Ho 3 : There is no significant relationship between provision and utilization of facilities for entrepreneurial skills inLagos State Junior Secondary Schools.Table 3 : Summary of Correlation Analysis of provision and utilization of facilities for entrepreneurial skillsNMeansDfr-calr-tableSignificanceProvision of facilities6034580.8950.250SignificantAcquisition of skills6044XI. Provision and Utilization of Facilties for Entrepreneurial Skills' Acquisition by Universal Basic Education Products in Lagos State, Nigeria © 2012 Global Journals Inc. (US) Provision and Utilization of Facilties for Entrepreneurial Skills' Acquisition by Universal Basic Education Products in Lagos State, Nigeria * Universal Basic Education: Towards a functional Development of Nigeria Educational System. A Paper Presented at the Annual National Conference of the Nigerian Association of Educational Administration and Planning (NAEAP) at the University of Ibadan EOAdu 2004 * Educational Planning, Management and School Organization OOCampbell 2002 Babs Olatunji Publishers Lagos * Federal Ministry of Education 2000 * Implementation Guidelines for the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Programme Abuja * Nigeria in search of an appropriate way of installing the 6-3-3-4. The Nigeria Education Times SOlajide 2006. 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