Entrepreneurship education is broadly considered an important factor in promoting an entrepreneurial culture among higher education students. Considering the importance of entrepreneurship with regard to economic growth, job creation and poverty alleviation, there is a need to train entrepreneurs and to equip them with an entrepreneurial culture that promotes entrepreneurship. However, the South African education system is lacking when it comes to entrepreneurship education. The education system seems to promote the white-collar jobs rather than self-employment, and the methodology that is used to teach entrepreneurship studies, focuses more on the theory of entrepreneurship than on its practice. Against this background, this study sought to identify the challenges to develop and support entrepreneurship education by focusing on the University of Zululand as a case study. The researcher used primary data for this study. The study adopted a qualitative approach, where data was collected using interview schedules from 11 heads of departments of the university’s faculties. The results from the study show that the development of curriculum, inexperienced educators, and the methodology used to teach entrepreneurship education, are some of the challenges that are hindering the promotion of entrepreneurship education. A policy implication that arose from these findings, is that there is a need for the development of entrepreneurship-based curriculum to promote entrepreneurship. The policymakers were also encouraged to employ educators who are qualified and experienced in teaching entrepreneurship. The development of incubation centres for grooming entrepreneurs at higher learning institutions was also recommended.

Youth entrepreneurship is commonly measured as a significant determinant of poverty reduction, economic development and job creation but the participation of the youth in entrepreneurship is worrisome. Against this background, this study aims to evaluate the challenges that are preventing the youth in starting their own businesses. A qualitative research approach was adopted to enable the use of secondary data literature. The research methodology was undertaken by systematically reviewing and contextualizing the literature regarding the challenges preventing the youth from participating in entrepreneurship activities. The data was analyzed using thematic content analysis. The results showed that the lack of education, society’s attitude towards youth entrepreneurship, lack of access to finance and a poor entrepreneurship culture are the barriers that prevent youth from engaging in entrepreneurial activities. A policy implication arising from these findings is that there is a need for entrepreneurship education, better support from society and the provision in terms of the easy access to finance.

Youth entrepreneurship is broadly considered as an important factor of economic growth, job creation and poverty alleviation. Lack of education and training pose major challenges for youth participation in entrepreneurship. This study examines the extent to which the educational curriculum fosters an entrepreneurship culture among the youth, with specific reference to the University of Zululand. The mixed method study surveyed three hundred and seventy-four (374) students and interviewed eleven (11) heads of departments from different faculties at the University of Zululand. The key findings indicated that the university educational curriculum does not equip the students with entrepreneurial skills and mindsets that enable them to start their own businesses. More significantly, the entrepreneurship is only taught in business management departments where the focus is biased towards theory rather than the practical aspects of business ventures. The study concluded that the educational curriculum was too theoretical and that universities has not yet recognized the significance of teaching entrepreneurship across all faculties. The main recommendations are the need for a policy shift towards teaching entrepreneurship in all universities faculties and placing emphasis on the practical aspects of venture creation in entrepreneurship studies, as well as developing incubation centres for grooming entrepreneurs at higher learning institutions.