Economics Education and Sustainable Development in Nigeria Challenges and Strategies for Moving Ahead

Abstract

Sustainable development is the United Nations’ global call for achieving a development that will meet the needs of the present without compromising that of future generations. This paper posits that economics education has a lot to offer in achieving sustainable development in Nigeria, as there are series of empirical evidence indicating a strong positive relationship among economics, economics education and sustainable development. Thus, the main thrust of this paper is to highlight the role of economics education in achieving sustainable development in Nigeria as well as the challenges and strategies for moving ahead.  After the conceptual clarifications, the paper justifies that economics education helps in analysing economic policies and strategies, promoting green and sustainable businesses, addressing poverty and inequality, and informing evidence-based decision-making, among others. Despite all these contributions, economics education in Nigeria suffers from a number of challenges such as inadequate infrastructure in schools, inadequate funding, shortage of qualified teachers, outdated curriculum, lack of technology integration, insufficient research and development, and gender inequality. To get rid of these challenges for achieving the desired sustainable development in the country, it is recommended that the Nigerian government should strategise towards enhancing teacher quality through training and development, reviewing the curriculum, providing adequate and necessary instructional resources, promoting research and innovation in schools and colleges, promoting collaboration and partnerships, and enhancing the school infrastructure.